


The Way We Were Woven Together

by aheinila



Series: Magic and Madness [1]
Category: Hunter X Hunter, Wheel of Time - Robert Jordan
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Crossover, Crossovers & Fandom Fusions, F/M, Fish out of Water, Fluff and Humor, Found Family, Friendship, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Loss of Identity, Loss of Parent(s), Mystery, Some Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-28
Updated: 2019-02-28
Packaged: 2021-02-25 21:42:15
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 7
Words: 42,858
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21722422
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/aheinila/pseuds/aheinila
Summary: For Kurapika, it was a mission gone unpredictably awry. For the girl he hadn't predicted, it was a long-awaited providence. The Wheel weaves as the Wheel wills.
Relationships: Senritsu | Melody/Kurapika
Series: Magic and Madness [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1797208
Comments: 15
Kudos: 25





	1. A Meeting at the Hummingbird Cafe

The Hummingbird Cafe was a quiet, high-brow establishment on the upper side of Swaldani City. From three blocks away Killua could already smell the darkly roasted coffee. It was the kind of place which catered only to those wealthy enough to spend what would seem to most people as a decent days wages on a single biscotti without batting an eye. The reason for the prices – and concurrently, why all manner of elites from stuffy politicians to underworld contractors were willing to shell out their tightfisted blood money – was an unquestioned guarantee of privacy. This was a smart place to conduct business, if said business were to dabble into dangerous or _hypothetically_ illegal territory. It was also the kind of place he liked to go out of his way to avoid at all costs.

Not many reasons would have been good enough for Killua Zoldyck to approach the Hummingbird Cafe, and fewer still could have motivated him to open the door and venture inside. Yet after only a heartbeat of hesitation, he did exactly that. The interior was lavish without being gaudy, dimly lit and designed to be all soft edges and muted earth tones. The general impression one received was that touching a mere tablecloth would reveal it to be crafted of finely spun silk, and that if you left even a single smudge you could be certain that your bill would make you regret it.

There was a modest dining area through the entrance, but that was for those who didn't understand the purpose of this place. More intimate rooms were available further inside, so as to guard clientele against the eyes of any lowly peon who might be unfortunate enough to wander in without an invitation.

Indeed, the only person in sight as he entered was a slender hostess in her middle years with a buttoned up demeanor and her chestnut hair drawn into such a tight bun atop her head that it probably doubled as a non-surgical face lift procedure. Her attention flickered to him only briefly before she stiffened and brushed imaginary lint from her blouse. It seemed she was taking her time to be sure that she contorted her expression into the perfect image of dismissal and mild revulsion. When she glanced up again, mouth already shaping around the spiel that was likely her default response to a _teenager_ daring to barge inside, her gaze faltered on his silver hair and then snapped with more attentive focus to his eyes. He felt a twinge of what was almost pity at the small squeak she emitted when her words failed her.

 _I'll bet you've seen Dad or Gramps before._ That was unsurprising, really. Although he'd never been to a contract negotiation himself, this was a suitable locale for his family to choose to conduct occasional dealings.

"Good day, sir." The woman made an admirably quick recovery. She bent in a bow, and he narrowly restrained an impatient sigh at that. "Please allow me to welcome you to the Hummingbird Cafe. Will you be needing a table, or a private room?"

"I'm here to meet someone," Killua said quickly, hoping his clipped tone would motivate her to skip the useless formalities and let him enter already. It seemed to have the desired effect, as she nodded and opened the spine of her thin black notebook. "Firelight." That was the code word Kurapika had given him to use.

The hostess nodded again, one long pink fingernail skimming down the page, then tapping twice when she found what she was looking for. The book snapped shut again and she affected a thin smile. "Please follow me right this way, sir."

Of the three polished doors behind her, she opened the center one and led him promptly through. The bitter, burnt smell of coffee beans roasting was more prevalent now. As dim as the dining room had been, this hallway was designed to be darker still. If separate groups were to pass each other in the wide hall, those with average vision would be unable to recognize any face that wasn't near to their own. Every step further into this damnable place put Killua more on edge. It was too easy to fall into playing the role expected of him here – the role he had been trained from birth to play – and he preferred to stay away from anything that made him feel like that version of himself. Discomfort was too mild a word for the emotion creeping up his spine and buzzing along the fringes of his senses. It felt ominous.

 _Why_ _here of all places, Kurapika? I swear-_ His uneasy thoughts were reigned in when the hostess halted and turned to her right. She placed her left hand in the pocket of her blazer and there was a tiny, mechanical click. Instantly, a door was made visible on the wall before her. _A holograph system._ Even as the thought occurred to him, his eyes were scanning for what he hadn't noticed. Running the length of the hallway was a network of intermittent, unobtrusive circles of tinted glass that very closely matched the color of the paint on the walls. Undoubtedly some of those spots concealed surveillance cameras while others hid projectors that were responsible for displaying holographic images like the one that had obscured the door.

The hostess knocked twice before pulling the door open and taking a long step backward. "Here you are, sir. Please ring if there's anything we can provide for you." She gestured to usher him inside and he complied, eager to be out of the hallway. Killua didn't bother to reply and she must not have expected him to, because the door swung shut behind him right as his heels cleared the threshold.

This new room was cozily small and had been furnished for utmost comfort. Two plush couches sat facing each other on opposite walls, a low coffee table between them laden with assorted pastries and two steaming carafes of coffee. As one of those couches was already holding two people, Killua sunk himself down into the other one. The burgundy velvet, he noted begrudgingly once he'd settled, was even softer than it looked.

Perhaps out of stubbornness, he decided not to address his two companions right away. Instead, he reached for a chocolate muffin and began eating with gusto. He very nearly gagged like a child when he realized one bite in that it was filled with walnuts. Feeling committed at that point, Killua finished it anyway with as much composure as possible and then pointedly wiped the crumbs from his hands on the fine upholstery. His peripheral vision caught the frustrated tap of a leather booted foot as he did so.

Killua slouched back with a smile, folding his hands behind his head and finally meeting the gazes of his friends. "Yo. Wanna tell me why the hell we had to meet in a shady place like this?"

Kurapika's eyes – made black by his habitual contact lenses – regarded him coolly. He took a long sip from his porcelain coffee cup. Then he set it back down upon the table in a motion so gracefully refined that Killua felt a muscle in his jaw twitch at the sight. His friend had aged well since the Hunter Exam. _I've always felt like a total kid compared to him, but now... what is he, like 22?_ The satisfied smirk evaporated from his expression and he straightened somewhat in an attempt to match a modicum of Kurapika's maturity.

Beside Kurapika sat Senritsu, her misshapen appearance made insignificant by the earnest kindness that she always radiated. Her hands fidgeting together anxiously, it was she who answered his question. "I made the suggestion that we ask for your help, Killua." Senritsu began slowly, her voice soft and soothing. "We ran into an unusual problem recently..." She trailed off, looking to her taller companion to continue.

Kurapika drummed the fingertips of his right hand on his knee. The chains he wore rattled. Over a lengthy pause he opened his mouth once or twice as if to begin speaking, but remained silent. Obvious frustration flickered repeatedly across his features. The atmosphere grew increasingly tense the longer the room went quiet and it was nearly unbearable by the time Kurapika managed to drag a few words out. "It's about my mission to reclaim the remains of the Kurta clan." As if he'd only just noticed the motion, he abruptly stopped tapping his fingers and folded his hands together in his lap. "There are not many scarlet eyes left for me to recover at this point. I've been able to confirm that four sets are in the possession of my current target."

Killua's eyebrows drew low, his mood sobering. "So, there's a problem with your target?"

Kurapika winced, which for his perpetually poised friend was the equivalent of a face palm. "Well, yes. But that would be oversimplifying what has become a very strange situation." Likely buying time to put together his words with care, Kurapika picked his coffee back up and turned it between his palms. His eyes were downcast, staring into without really seeing the dark liquid in his cup. "I did my usual research and study of the subject – Chaplain Elocure of the Holy Coventry, as it happens – and almost immediately discovered that this was going to be one of the more irritating targets I've faced up to this point."

Killua leaned forward now, elbows on his knees, to hold his chin in one hand. This was turning out to be more intriguing than he'd expected. _The Holy Coventry, huh? They're just a bunch of religious nuts. Kurapika could handle their Chaplain with ease._ "What's the problem?" He prodded, after Kurapika had drifted into contemplative quiet.

Kurapika shrugged. "Usually, the simplest solution is to infiltrate and take the eyes without anyone knowing I've been there. In this case, that just isn't a viable option. The Chaplain keeps his most prized possessions locked within a secure vault on his own residential floor of the Palace. The vault door will accept two sequential entry attempts during which it requires a nine digit numerical code, palm and fingerprint scan, and a non-distressed heart rate detection. Only the Chaplain can open the door, and only if he's calm when he does so. Fail any of the three checks twice in a row and the contents of the vault will be incinerated. Attempt to secure entry from any direction other than the door and passcode mechanism, and the contents of the vault will be incinerated." He took a drink from his cup before concluding with, "My preferred method is unlikely to have much success."

Killua nodded agreement. _That's a pretty nice security system._ "If infiltration is out, what else have you considered?"

Senritsu chimed in. "Making an offer to purchase the eyes – which is exactly where we encountered the first real difficulty."

Kurapika's gaze was unfocused again as he recalled the details. "Chaplain Elocure refused outright when I sent Senritsu to make the first inquiry. So, I waited a short while and then I went myself." He exchanged a look with the woman beside him, as if unsure how to express what he wanted to say next. "What I experienced at the Coventry Palace was... unexpected."

Senritsu frowned and shifted about, plainly discomfited. "My own visit was fairly routine, I thought. I made my business request known and was escorted by a pair of armed guards to petition the Chaplain directly. He heard me out, but then dismissed me with a refusal and I returned home. That's a standard experience."

Kurapika spoke up smoothly to continue the story. "When I made my trip three weeks later it was hard to believe I was seeing the same place. The soldiers muttered to themselves like they were insane – arguing out loud to no one in particular, suspicious of one another and even more so of me. There was tangible paranoia in the air." He took a serene sip from his cup. "They refused to allow me to see the Chaplain. Apparently, Elocure had banned all outsiders from the Palace roughly one week prior to my arrival. That alone is unprecedented. In all the history of the Holy Coventry, no Chaplain has ever turned away petitioners. Naturally, I decided to press my luck and make a bit of a scene." His friend's brow furrowed as he went on, "I made a show of strength and most of the soldiers scattered – they were completely disorganized. After I boxed one into a corner, he relented and led me to the grand hall. When I saw the Chaplain, he was like a shadow of the man Senritsu had described. His eyes were clouded, confused. He looked decades older than he should have. There were bloodied bandages wrapping his left hand. A woman, whose identity I have been unable to ascertain, was standing at his shoulder. She spoke into his ear while I made my request. It was by her urging that he ordered me removed from the Palace."

After another lengthy silence, Senritsu sighed. "We haven't been able to make any progress since. Everything we've discovered has simply added to the overall mystery of the situation. Nothing seems to make sense, or even to be related in any way."

Killua arched an eyebrow. "Well, what _have_ you discovered?"

Kurapika wasted no time about answering, and his anger about the situation only became more apparent as he went on. "The abrupt change in Chaplain Elocure most likely occurred at some point during the night of the sixteenth, as a number of decrees were passed the following morning. The first was to ban all non-Coventry members from the Palace excepting special circumstances. The second forbade all but those of Captain rank or above from the upper floors where the Chaplain himself resides. Twelve Captains and five Sergeants were excommunicated. Three Commanders were executed. Others were promoted from the very bottom ranks to fill their positions. The third, fourth, and fifth decrees all amount to making the previously elected position of Chaplain that of a dictator – his orders are now incontestable and his title is permanent."

Killua realized that he'd been holding his breath while listening to that, and let it all out in a low whistle.

Kurapika nodded, lips pressed together in a grim line. "I've been focused on discovering what may have transpired the night and the days before the Chaplain underwent that change. That, and on identifying the woman who appeared to be counseling him. On the latter front, I learned nothing at all. As for the former... Elocure had been searching for years for a specific item to add to his collection. Called a sindyna, it is a palm sized sphere made of interlocking pieces of red stone which-" He made a small, dissatisfied noise and began drumming his fingers again. "-the translation is dubious, but it is said that the pieces of the sindyna twist your vision if you attempt to follow with your eyes the way that they fit together. Honestly, most of the information I could dig up on this thing is useless. It all sounds like old myth and superstition. I know only that in the days before the change, Elocure believed he was close to getting his hands on one. I also know that he believed it could summon a creature from a different dimension to grant whatever wish he desired, with no strings attached."

Killua felt the blood drain from his face at that last sentence. He had more than his fair share of experience with seemingly magical wishes. "There's no such thing as no strings attached. Not ever." He wanted the words back as soon as he'd mumbled them out. Both his friends expressed visible sympathy at the utterance, and some of the color surely flooded back to his cheeks. _You probably expected to hear me declare outright that it all sounds like insanity._ Killua put on a more chagrined smile. The room had grown too quiet again. When it seemed unlikely that either of his companions was going to take the burden of pushing the conversation forward, he gave it a try. "I don't think we should conclude anything from that, but it's at least possible that he found what he was looking for."

"The sindyna _,_ " Senritsu said, almost wistfully.

Killua nodded. "The world is full of strange things. Maybe it didn't do what he expected and there were repercussions."

Kurapika rubbed at one of his temples like his head hurt. "Curious as I find myself, it doesn't matter what happened to Elocure. Regardless of the cause, the problem I'm left with is that I need to somehow get into the impenetrable vault of a mad tyrant. Not knowing all of the variables makes that exceedingly difficult, as does..." He lowered his voice. "I believe someone has been attempting to follow and spy on me for the past week; ever since I visited Yverris. Someone cautious enough to keep a wide berth. It is only an intuition, but I can't shake it."

"Well," Killua frowned thoughtfully, "I guess you've finally answered my first question. That explains why you'd want to meet in a place like this."

Kurapika made an effort to smile, but his eyes were pensive and the deep shadows beneath them focused that emotion into something more intense. "It was the best way to keep you from becoming unknowingly tangled up in something that might be bigger than I am even aware of. If someone is watching me, they will have no way of discerning who, if anyone, I met with while I was here. If you don't want any part of this or if there's something else you should be doing instead, just say the word."

"I'm not saying no. If you need my help, well, then I'll be there," Killua said. "Besides, I was just starting to feel a bit restless."

* * *

"He's really grown up a lot," Senritsu observed softly. Killua had exited the room and the cafe over twenty minutes ago. They'd all been in agreement that it would be wisest to stagger their departures.

"I know," Kurapika agreed. "There's so little of the child left in him at all. He's not even fifteen yet." He realized he had been clenching his fists, white knuckled. He could feel the familiar chains biting into the flesh of his right hand. Slowly, he made the muscles of his hands relax. Kurapika spoke again in a low breath, almost as if to himself. He knew that Senritsu could still hear every word clearly. "I'm asking his assistance when I don't even understand what we'll be going up against. And it all feels so..."

Looking hesitant, Senritsu placed her hand on his knee. Her touch was gentle, unsure of its own ability to give comfort. He bristled at the unexpectedness of it and she made as if to pull away, so he covered her hand with his own. She emitted a tiny noise – not really enough to be called a gasp – of surprise, and he thought her cheeks might have been flushing before she turned her face away. Then she spoke. As ever, her cadence softened the edges of his tension and cleared some of the darkness from his thoughts. "I believe that it's going to be alright. The danger is minimal, and with Killua's assistance your chance of success will increase dramatically. There were no Nen users there that I could sense. Certainly there will be none who match up to you." The tips of her ears were definitely pink, now.

 _I wish she would look back at me._ Kurapika found himself startled by his own thought, and pushed aside the instinct to analyze it further. Instead, he nearly acted on the urge to reach out and brush her cheek with a touch. He certainly would have, had she not abruptly pulled her hand free and stood from the couch. It was odd how keenly he could feel the sudden absence of that reassuring contact. "You're right, Senritsu."

She turned to regard him finally, her dark eyes inscrutable. He was aware that his mouth was uncomfortably dry – perhaps it was the caffeine dehydrating him.

"Objectively, you are right," Kurapika amended. Her eyebrows turned downward, compassionate, and this time it was he who had to break eye contact. "There's a sense of foreboding that I can't shake. From the moment I decided to call Killua, I felt-" He forced himself to stop, sensing that his emotions were wavering on the brink of instability. _Even before, in the Palace, it was as if I could feel fate spinning around me._

"Listen to me, Kurapika-san."

Kurapika turned his attention back to Senritsu. She had moved to stand directly in front of him. As short as she was, he still had to look down slightly to meet her eyes. He may have even gulped – how mortifying – but the sensation was distant enough to be irrelevant. Actually, everything felt particularly distant all of a sudden; everything except for Senritsu. For a long moment he was quite unwilling to do anything other than look at her looking at him.

Senritsu reached out again. This time there was no obvious hesitation, and she wrapped both her gloved hands around one of his. "We will do as much planning as we possibly can, and we will all be prepared for the likelihood that our best plan will fail." She gave a small shrug of her shoulders, then smiled. It lit up her eyes in a way that made his mind feel clear of all else. "What we won't do is sit around worrying. That's just unproductive." He felt a gentle tug on his hand and let her coax him to his feet. Just like that he towered over her again, which was difficult to get used to considering he wasn't accustomed to feeling tall. Even Killua and Gon would likely surpass him in height within the next year or so. "It should be safe enough to go now."

"Mhm." Kurapika nodded, not trusting himself to say anything sensible at the moment. It had been a stressful week and he had gotten far too little opportunity for rest. _That's why my thoughts and my instincts are in a jumble. I need to sleep._

Thankfully, they didn't need to speak further. Senritsu was one of the rare, precious people on the planet who could comfortably tolerate silence – a trait of hers for which Kurapika found himself constantly grateful. He often mused to himself that it was due to her talents as a musician. Perhaps because she knew just how beautiful sound could be, she preferred to have moments of silence over meaningless noise.

As they exited the cafe and walked to his car, he did his best to fend off the returning tendrils of dread that threatened to coil in his gut.

* * *

When Killua made it back to his hotel suite, Gon and Alluka were embroiled in what appeared to be a cutthroat game of Old Maid. His best friend was all concentration as he stared at the back of the cards spread in Alluka's hand. Neither of them spared a glance up at his entrance. After a lengthy deliberation, Gon plucked a card from Alluka's hand in a fiercely swift motion. His look of triumph melted into dismay at the very instant Alluka cried out with glee.

"I won!" His sister bounded up from her seat and sprinted to him. Killua caught her easily in a hug and spun her around, not bothering to stifle his grin at her enthusiasm. "Welcome back, Onii-chan!"

Gon went melodramatically limp in his seat and scrubbed a hand through his hair. "Jeez, I really suck at card games."

Killua snickered, the sound neatly mirrored by his sister's giggles.

Gon opened his mouth as if to protest their amusement, then seemed to think better of it and asked instead, "How was your meeting with Kurapika?"

Killua set Alluka down to her own feet and dropped to sit cross-legged on the floor. "Thought provoking. He hit a snag in his mission and so I'm going to help him figure it out. If you don't mind, it'd be helpful if you would watch over Alluka while I'm busy with that. I don't think it'll take very long – maybe just a few days."

The two of them frowned and spoke up in identical protest.

"Is this something dangerous?" That familiar spark of excitement was in Gon's eyes.

"Onii-chan, do you _have_ to leave me behind?" Alluka sounded dispirited.

He looked between the two of them and shook his head fondly. "It's unlikely we're gonna encounter anything we can't handle," Killua said carefully, answering Gon's question first. Alluka's made him feel considerably guiltier. "And I do have to leave Swaldani at some point, but it should only be for a day or two."

His sister crossed her arms and frowned at him. "If it's not going to be dangerous, then why can't I come along?"

Gon looked as though he was ready to back her up, so Killua spoke up as quickly as possible. "Not dangerous to me isn't the same thing as not dangerous to you. Anyway, we'll have it all over and done with before ya know it." _That's the goal, anyway._


	2. In the Palace of the Holy Coventry

The Yverris Plains, Killua observed as he disembarked the small airship with Kurapika, were _exactly_ as boring as they had looked in the brochure. The air was dry and hot. His every breath stuck in the back of his mouth with an acrid taste like he'd eaten a spoonful of ashes. Brittle grass covered the cracked, dusty earth in sparse patches extending as far as the eye could see, save where the settlement of Ebbston had made its claim. Even settlement seemed like a generous term to describe Ebbston; it was little more than a dozen low huts clustered together in the middle of vast nothingness.

There wasn't a single mountain to be seen on the horizon out here. The only shape to rebel against the harsh flatness of the landscape was the still distant Palace of the Holy Coventry. In the afternoon sunlight, its tall copper-plated spires gleamed and the heat radiating from the ground made that resplendent image shimmer and waver. Altogether, the pull of that massive structure was almost hypnotic. Airships would approach the Palace no nearer than Ebbston, which is the only reason that the settlement had to exist in the first place. Nobody came to the Yverris Plains unless they were making a pilgrimage to see the Holy Coventry. Why the hell the Coventry had chosen to set up shop out here in the first was the real mystery.

In addition to Kurapika and himself, only two other guests had booked passage to this destination today. One, a dark haired woman with a permanent looking sneer on her face, had apparently planned to spend the entire flight cackling noisily on her cell phone. After the first ninety minutes of such, she had glanced up to find Kurapika giving her a look so severe that she'd elected to turn her phone off for the remainder of the journey.

The other passenger was a young man only a year or two older than Kurapika with a heavy build and an air of arrogance about him despite the tattered and dirtied state of his attire. Disturbingly, he had spent his time alternating between glaring with thinly veiled suspicion at everything in the cabin and grumbling to himself with his eyes closed. Killua was still unsure whether to consider the man a threat or merely some random lunatic. This place definitely drew in more than its share of lunatics.

As he and Kurapika slung their packs over their shoulders, the loud woman was already making a rush for Ebbston. It looked as though a small group of cooing family – that seemed a fair assumption given the level of volume they were producing – was coming out to greet her. She was thirty yards away and they were about to set off themselves in the opposite direction when the man from the airship started to approach. Killua held himself warily at the ready for anything. Kurapika took two steps forward and the man froze, looking for all his tormented expression like he was fighting an internal war.

"Whatever you want to say," Kurapika began, his voice hard, "I would appreciate if you get it over with. I'm eager to be on my way and I will not tolerate you glowering at me from afar any longer."

The large man stiffened and for a moment he looked embarrassed. Just as quickly, his expression darkened with anger. "You're going back."

Kurapika's eyes narrowed. "Back? Do I know you?"

The man shook with rage and then groaned and lifted a hand to scrub across his sweaty face. Bafflingly, all of the fury seemed to leave him at once and he sagged in on himself. "I saw you. Couldn't believe they let you in." He chewed absently on his lower lip. "Evritt Malimar. That's my name. Was my name. Is my name? I don't know anymore. Am I me?" He sounded horrified by his own question.

And now Kurapika appeared somewhat rattled. "You're the Chaplain's brother," he muttered, "and a disavowed Captain of the Holy Coventry. I should have recognized you." He shook his head and made a small, frustrated noise. "Shouldn't you be far away from this place? There is an outstanding warrant for your execution."

"Elocure wouldn't do that." The young man – Evritt – looked on the verge of tears, or maybe it was laughter. "My brother, he- but, he-" He took a slow, hitching breath and then tried again. "Not my brother. That woman got to him. She did something to me, too. Just can't get my thoughts straight. Can't remember how." The last sentence of his stammering rant was barely more than a whisper. Even more unnerving, he punctuated it all with a high giggle.

Killua blinked at the barrage of new information. _Well, this is... something._

"Why were you following me?" Kurapika demanded. He took another step forward and settled casually into the posture he used for battle. "If you wanted to speak with me you could have easily done so in Swaldani City."

Evritt's expression furrowed up like he thought the answer to that should be painfully obvious. "I can't trust you. Probably I'll die soon. You work for the Mafia. Maybe you work for that woman. She'll kill me. You'll kill me. Are you going to kill me?" His expression was a mask of fear, now.

Kurapika's posture relaxed a tiny amount and the razor edged threat that had been in his eyes muted. "I don't plan on killing anyone who doesn't try to kill me first."

The reassurance had only a mild effect. Evritt's gaze darted about nervously. _This man is unstable. It'd be a huge liability to get tangled up with him, but he might know more about what's going on than any of us were able to uncover._ _Well, if there's even a way to access that information beneath all of this insanity._ Killua weighed the risks and benefits in his mind, made a decision, then stepped forward beside Kurapika. He moved with deliberate slowness, but still the man eyed him anxiously the entire time. _Being subtle won't cut it. We have to work around his lack of focus._

"We _don't_ work for that woman," Killua emphasized. He paused, to be sure that statement registered, before going on to ask, "Who is she?"

Evritt might've almost looked composed as he answered, were it not for the trembling of his hands. "It wasn't supposed to happen like it did." Abruptly he jumped, as if he'd been startled by something. "Not here. It isn't safe! Nowhere is safe, but I know a place." His balance wobbled as he spun away and started running.

The two of them shared a hesitant look with each other, but there seemed little doubt what needed to be done. They followed his mad sprint through the plains – toward the Palace of the Holy Coventry.

* * *

"I'm not like this. I wasn't, before," Evritt babbled as he came to a halt. He'd led them frantically to the remnants of what must have once been a wide river. Given the state of the plains, that river had run dry at least a century past. Only after sliding in a cascade of dust to the bottom of the desolate river bed did the man slow down and stop zigzagging. Now he was staring straight ahead, eyes unfocused.

Kurapika followed the direction of his gaze skeptically. _An abandoned beaver dam is his safe place? Why did I follow this madman?_ "I think that we-"

Evritt cut him off with a desperate gesture for silence. He shot a worried glance at the sky before scrambling closer to the aged pile of wood he had stopped them at. The man beckoned only once for them to follow before dropping to his hands and knees to clamber inside.

Killua scoffed before Evritt was even out of sight. "Seriously?"

Kurapika drew a deep breath for patience before following after Evritt. "We've come this far already, haven't we?" He began to crawl inside, and an instant later heard low grumbled complaints confirming that Killua was behind him.

The inside of the former beaver den was exactly what he should have expected – just an empty, domed pile of dried sticks – yet Kurapika couldn't help but feel a twinge of disappointment that it wasn't the proudly decorated nest of paranoia that he had built up in his imagination. Evritt sat cross-legged against the far wall, and he scrutinized them both as Killua crawled in. They settled themselves down uncomfortably in the dirt.

After his dash to get here, Evritt did seem to be considerably more at ease. "It's safer here," he explained. "The birds watch me. The crows, and the vultures. The rats. Bit me when I was out in the open. Trying to get me. They'll get me." A brief shudder wracked his body. "I'm gonna get got."

Kurapika wished now that he would have let Senritsu come along as she had wanted to. She could have calmed this man down with ease. He didn't possess anything like her talent, but did his best to make his voice something like soothing. "Will you tell us what happened? From the beginning of when everything went wrong, if you can."

"The beginning?" Evritt nodded to himself. "Okay. We were tricked. The sindyna was a trick. Tricky fox man. Scary and tricky."

Killua's eyebrows lowered. "So, you found what you were looking for?"

"Yes. Also, no." Evritt's expression fell aghast. "We asked, but we were wrong. We should never have touched that thing. It gave us _her._ It hurt my brother. She hurt everyone."

Kurapika frowned as his mind worked to fit the scrambled pieces of that answer together. "The sindyna hurt your brother?"

Evritt gave a helpless little shrug. "Fox man hurt him bad. Took his skin and gave us the woman and the child. Not what we asked for. Not at all what we asked for."

Kurapika felt his hands clenching into fists and forced them to relax. _Everything he tells us raises more questions._

"What do you mean by 'took his skin'? Who hurt your brother?" Killua asked, sounding for all the world as if he was asking whether it might rain. Kurapika firmed his own composure to match.

Evritt began trembling. "It came from the sindyna. The fox man. It ripped the skin right off his arm. Peeled it off and took it. Very tricky. Laughed at us. Should have named our own price." There, he shook with a bout of laughter.

"And then it gave you the woman and the child," Kurapika repeated dubiously.

As Evritt nodded the affirmation, fat tears began streaming down his cheeks. "Just there. Just there, asleep. Not even wearing anything. So much blood from Elocure, but he stopped screaming. He wouldn't listen to anyone. Took off my coat to cover the little one and she woke up. She woke up crying. I buttoned her up, I-" He put his head in his hands and shook with half-stifled sobs. His words became agonized. "My fault after that. She begged me. Begged me to kill the woman. Should've done it right then. Before the woman woke up. I could've. I just didn't understand. Not enough time to understand. The girl said that, too. She was crying."

His torrent of words became a trickle of whimpers, followed by a hefty silence as he pulled the wreckage of his thoughts together. Before Kurapika had the nerve to press the man with another question, he started speaking again.

This time Evritt's voice was thick with bitterness. "Then the woman woke up. She woke up angry. I was frozen. The woman asked questions. Killed two men for bad answers. She didn't touch them. Their heads exploded. Blood on everything. Not on the woman. Some... s-something in my head. I could move again. But then I started having to think my thoughts one thought at a time. Everyone acted like nothing was wrong. Woman talked to Elocure. Girl tried to tell me something. I didn't listen right. She grabbed the woman. Surprised her. Another chance to kill her. Girl kept trying to tell me. She screamed. Bit her tongue and there was more blood. And I never- not even Elocure- those _screams_ -" Before he could slip back into hysteria he choked off those words and finished his ranting with, "I ran. I _ran_."

Kurapika tried to absorb that outpouring of scattered details. He shifted each piece of information about in his mind, failing to see how any of it could be properly fit together. _How c_ _an I believe any of this?_

Killua slouched a bit, holding his chin like he did when he was thinking carefully. Then his gaze snapped back to the madman and he asked, "What was it you wished for?"

Evritt's features hardened into an unforgiving expression. "Elocure wished for a weapon. Power, to overwhelm anything. Power to make the leaders of the world bow down."

* * *

"Can you imagine the headlines though? **Inter-Dimensional Wish-Granting Relic Is Actually A Prank Device**. **Militant Religious Empire Overthrown By Nude Woman With Mysterious Powers**." Killua smirked. "Ya know, Kurapika, I figured this trip wouldn't be boring, but I wasn't expecting it to be so salacious." He quipped as they stalked closer to the Palace walls, sticking to the deeper shadows and avoiding the searchlights of the guards high above. The joke actually earned him a muffled chuckle from Kurapika, which was enough to make him grin.

They were directly against the wall now, staring up a sheer vertical climb of over sixty feet. Kurapika swallowed hard, then turned to him more seriously. "We can notify the Hunter Association of the entire sordid situation when we return. Our priority is to get in, secure the eyes, and get back out again without alerting the entire compound to our presence. If there is a battle to be fought here, it isn't _our_ battle. We need to remember that."

Killua resisted the urge to roll his eyes. "You got it, Boss."

It was a simple plan because it needed to be. There were more extraneous variables than could be accounted for. His role was to remain completely hidden and out of the way for the entire operation, if they could be so lucky. He would shadow Kurapika and intervene only if necessary. If it did become necessary, their best shot would be for him to strike from a hidden vantage, making full use of his speed to catch the enemy unaware. _I doubt I'll even be needed. Whoever that woman is, I bet she's a Manipulator. A powerful one, to be able to control so many people even weakly, but definitely not the type of person Kurapika can't handle on his own._ The thoughts were reassuring, but there were others following behind them, much quieter but no less insistent. _Evritt thought he knew what to expect and lost his damn mind for his arrogance. There's no En present and I don't feel_ any _Nen users nearby. What kind of evil Manipulator only guards her base of operations with crazy people? And there's some kid involved, too. I could be misjudging this situation – maybe dangerously so._

Killua gave his head a rough shake and steeled his nerves. They had begun, and there was no time for nagging doubts now. Kurapika started up the wall first and made it to the top in a succession of quick jumps. Killua closed his eyes, waited for the distinct rattle of a chain to signal that the way was clear for him, and leaped up to follow.

Atop the wall, there were no Coventry guards yet within sight. Their rotation should bring them around soon, however. Kurapika wasted no time and set off immediately down the route they'd planned. If all continued to be successful, they would be forced to engage very few guards. Most of the population of the Palace would be sleeping at this hour.

If Killua's eyesight had been any less trained, it might've been difficult to follow his friend's stealthy movements. He pursued silently and kept at a minimum distance of five meters behind. They evaded numerous patrols and remained undetected. Every soldier they passed was doing a poor job at playing sentry, as it turned out. Most of them _were_ muttering beneath their breath and glaring at one another instead of looking for intruders. Within a few short minutes, they were sneaking in through a window to the top floor of the Palace – reserved for the Chaplain's private use. His recreational rooms, personal office, bedroom suite, and secret vault would all be located somewhere up here.

Killua crouched low on the carpeted floor beside Kurapika and was immediately aware that they had encountered their first problem. _Is it a problem?_ Rather, he was disturbed by the fact that their mission was going far more smoothly than they had allotted for. _They really did ban everyone from the top floor. Idiots._ He shut his eyes, stilled his thoughts, and listened. _Why would they leave their leader unguarded?_

"There's somebody snoring over that way." Killua spoke as softly as he could and gestured in the direction of the noise – to his right down the long hallway. There were only three doors in that direction. In silence, he approached the first and held his ear close to the door. There was definitely someone sleeping within. Killua nodded at Kurapika and backed away to shelter in the shadows against the wall. His friend turned the knob slowly with his left hand and held his right at the ready while maintaining Zetsu. The door opened a few inches and Kurapika peered within.

The little Killua could see of the room was all ostentatious finery. The furniture was dark hardwood and heavy tapestries on the wall displayed the yellow sunburst sigil of the Holy Coventry. From over the top of Kurapika's blonde hair Killua could just make out the shape of the sleeping figure in the massive four post bed. _Those hips probably don't belong to the Chaplain._ Kurapika's raised hand was visibly quivering as he looked at the sleeping woman. _Close the door. Get in, get out, leave the problem to someone else. You're the one who told_ me _to remember that!_ Killua pleaded within his mind and held his breath until the door finally closed again. Kurapika turned away, pallid but resolute, and they moved further down the hall. At the next door Killua thought he might have heard something, but discounted the too faint noise as a product of his overworking imagination. The third door was opposite the second. Killua felt tangible relief when from within there was a loud, rattling snore that sounded undeniably male.

They repeated the process they'd used at the first door, but this time they found what they were searching for. After confirming that the room was clear of anyone but the sleeping Chaplain, Kurapika crept inside. Oddly, this room was cramped and plain. It would've been more fitting for a servant than for the mad tyrant of Yverris Plains. That was yet another misshapen piece of information which refused to fit nicely into this puzzle. Well, unless he decided to give full credence to the ramblings of the lunatic man in his beaver den home. Killua pushed his irritation over that aside. The next step had little room for error.

From the pocket of his black jacket Kurapika produced a thin glass vial. He unscrewed the top and pulled out a filled dropper. Derioxote was an extremely potent poison. One drop would send the victim into a deep and unshakable sleep for days. Two drops would cause coma and later brain death. Three drops would stop a human heart within seconds. Precisely one drop fell from Kurapika's hand and into the gaping mouth of the Chaplain before he swiftly screwed the bottle back up and slipped it back from whence it came. The sleeping man snorted once, then only managed half of another fitful snore before his breathing settled to a deep, slow rhythm. As quietly as possible, Kurapika pulled him from the bed to carry him across his shoulders. Killua waited patiently, anticipating any sound that would indicate the woman in the other room had woken. There was no such sound. Everything was going perfectly right. All that remained was to find the vault, retrieve the scarlet eyes, and make their stealthy escape.

They moved together to check the empty room across from where the Chaplain had been sleeping. Killua opened the door smoothly and entered with Kurapika right behind him, feeling confident.

* * *

The sense of impending dread that had been shrouding Kurapika reached its crescendo as he followed Killua into the next room. It crashed down into the pit of his belly so thunderously that his knees threatened to buckle. One of his hands shot out reflexively to snag the fabric of Killua's hoodie and stop him from entering the room any further.

A pair of pale eyes blinked at the two of them in shock. In that ponderous moment, the world was utter stillness. Kurapika thought he had been well prepared for the possibilities. Seeing the sleeping woman who had been murdering and terrorizing the people in this place had bothered him. Of course, he only had half of the perspective on this situation – and the half he had was _far_ from a sane account of events. Closing the door and moving on had been difficult, but he'd felt proud of himself for making the correct decision. That decision would allow him to recover the remains of his clan; it would keep both Killua and himself safe. Everything should have been much easier from then on out.

Despite those affirmations, Kurapika had known that there was a child here somewhere, caught up in the same evil that had broken Evritt's mind. It hadn't been a thought he wanted to dwell on, as in all likelihood he would leave this place without encountering her. Part of him – what remained of his ethics after so long pushing them aside to do what needed to be done – demanded that he make an effort to search for the child, but pragmatically he ignored that urge. _Get in, get what we came for, get out._ There was not enough time and too few resources at his disposal to take on the Holy Coventry right now, much less whatever strangeness this woman was capable of attacking the two of them with. Making the attempt, however righteous it might be, would have consequences. The most practical option was to notify the Association after they were well away. The Hunters could come in authority to clean up this mess.

Kurapika stood transfixed, feeling numb. All of his rationality was close to slipping away from him. His grip on Killua tightened when he felt him tense to spring into action. According to their thorough planning, anyone to spot them should be rendered unconscious immediately. That was the _only_ safe course of action! Killua, who knew that as well as he, darted a worried glance over his shoulder. Any second now the child might scream and alert the Palace to their presence, and yet... impossibly, a few more seconds went by and she did not make even the tiniest noise. As the two of them stared at one another, Kurapika watched her eyes empty of emotion entirely. She looked resigned to whatever was about to happen.

Kurapika judged that the girl appeared about ten years old. She was much smaller than Killua's sister at thirteen, anyway. Admittedly, it was a difficult thing to gauge – from her shoulders to below her knees she was bundled in a man's boxy gray military coat. A voluminous mane of brown hair flared around her and seemed to take up more space than she did. Her legs, where they peeked uncovered from beneath the coat, were frightfully bony and lashed together with thick rope. That same rope had been snaked about her wrists and arms, suspending them above her head and secured to the titanium handle of a massive vault door. One of her hands was discolored to a sickly purple-black.

The observations were all filed away in the same instant. In the next, his feelings of indecision were gone. _This is fortuitous. We can help the child without ever having to alter our plan._ Kurapika relinquished his hold on Killua's sweatshirt to approach the girl. He propped the sleeping Elocure gingerly against a wall before kneeling in front of the girl and making a gesture for silence. She nodded once, and her apathetic expression cracked – just for a fleeting moment. Her eyes seemed too large for her gaunt heart shaped face, which was mottled with the green and yellow of healing bruises. Beneath her chin, a wide band of silver encircled her thin neck. A delicate chain dangled from the peculiar necklace to pool in her lap, where it was attached to a smaller silver hoop.

Killua had moved, too. Kurapika realized that belatedly, only as his friend sliced through the ropes holding the girl in two easy motions. Her arms dropped like dead weight. She shifted her strained muscles without emitting so much as a wince or a whimper. Her eyes danced several times between he and Killua before her apathy slipped again, allowing a fraction of brightness into her expression. With trembling effort, the girl lifted one hand. She held it just short of brushing the silver necklace and locked a steady gaze on his own. She mouthed one word, please, and mimed taking the necklace off. Kurapika frowned, but reached out nonetheless with one hand and ran it along the smooth metal until he found a clasp. There was a small click when he depressed it and what had seemed one solid piece swung open on a hinge. He pulled the necklace off and cast it aside; beneath was a horrific purple scar.

With trembling fingertips, she touched the newly bared flesh at her throat. Her eyes shone with sudden tears, but just as quickly she was blinking them away. "Thank you." She mouthed her words in silence. As she braced herself on one foot and tried to rise, her knee shook. Kurapika reached out to catch her by the shoulders and helped her to stand. Her eyes closed while she took a few deep breaths and gathered her balance, leaning only slightly against his supporting grip. When those pale eyes opened again, her gaze drifted about the room. She focused in turn on Killua, himself, and the slumped form of the unconscious Elocure.

"The vault, Kurapika," Killua reminded him with the barest whisper.

Kurapika nodded and reoriented his spiraling focus. He had to find what he'd come here for. _Once I have the eyes in my possession, there will be nothing left but to escape._ It was a deliberate, logical, and reassuring thought; it did nothing to calm his speeding pulse. There were too many unseen layers to this situation. The girl stepped back from him, bracing her undamaged hand against the wall so she could stand on her own.

"Wait a moment," he whispered to her, "I'll get you out of here."

She frowned in response to that and her gaze flickered to the wall that separated this room from the one in which the strange woman was asleep. Her expression smoothed again and she turned away to stare blankly out the window at the barren landscape far below.

" _Kurapika._ " Killua's hiss, accompanied by a nudge on his shoulder, spurred him back to a much needed sense of urgency.

Kurapika whirled, immediately getting to work on the passcode mechanism. Finding out the correct numerical code had been the easiest part of preparing for this ordeal. There were a number of skilled hackers or spies up to that task, and a few that he trusted and had contracted before to serve the Nostrade Family. He counted ninety seconds as he pressed Elocure's palm onto the sensor and then was rewarded with the grinding sound of steel bolts releasing. The door produced an unfortunate groan as it opened, but there was no responding noise to indicate that anyone had taken notice.

The vault was filled with chests and crates, each housing the Chaplain's most prized and valuable possessions. It wasn't until the fourth chest that Kurapika found what he'd been searching for. Nestled inside were four cylindrical tanks containing the remains of his fallen family. A sense of reclaimed peacefulness settled over him. He exhaled much of his tension in a long breath, then transferred the four tanks into his padded, formerly empty backpack. _Now we only have to get out of here – all of us._ Kurapika exited the vault, noting that the girl had not shifted even an inch.

Killua slouched against the wall opposite the window with his hands stuffed into his pockets, watching her with a wary expression. "We good to go?"

The girl turned about, likely eager for the answer to that question, herself. Kurapika nodded once to Killua before taking a step toward the child and extending his hand.

Perhaps unconsciously, she felt at her own neck again. "Thank you." Her voice, barely audible, was a pained rasp. Yet when she focused on him, her gaze was only determined. "You must go."

Kurapika shook his head and tried for a reassuring smile. "We can all leave together."

"No." Hoarse though she was, there was something quite imperious about her voice and mannerisms. "I am sorry. Go now."

Kurapika's brow furrowed in confusion at that, but he had no time for a response. In the next moment a number of strange things seemed to happen all at once. He was pushed backward by nothing he could see – Killua as well, by the startled look on his face – and forced away from the girl. Two vertical lines of shimmering silver light appeared on either side of her. A high pitched whistle sounded out with eardrum piercing intensity. The silvery beams rotated, opening into tall rectangular portals. Through one was a view of the room in which the woman had been sleeping. The other displayed dry grass, dark earth, and little else. A breeze of dusty air swept in and stirred the girl's hair about, but Kurapika could not feel it himself.

Even before the whistle died out and the portals had finished opening, the woman cried out with rage and sat upright in her bed. More silver light flickered in the air behind her before vanishing, and then she was abruptly suspended in midair. Her body was flung toward them, through the first portal and then the second in quick succession. She tumbled across the hard ground on the other side. Kurapika realized only then that he couldn't move. The air around him felt solid, invulnerable. His panic at that lasted only a second, for the girl then jumped – shockingly agile in her state – after the woman. As soon as she was through, both portals vanished and the air around him returned to its more normal, intangible state. Kurapika staggered, regaining control of his body and attempting to make sense from the flurry of chaos. _What was that? I felt no Nen, and-_

Lighting crashed outside, five rapid fire bolts that illuminated the room in flashes and struck closely enough to rattle the Palace around them. Panicked noises began to drift from the floors below as soldiers who had just awakened started raising an alarm.

Kurapika shook himself and hurried to open the window. A swift exit would be necessary - they could not remain in this place. "Come on, we're getting out now," he muttered.

Killua was an image of bewilderment, but he nodded his agreement and he followed Kurapika outside with no lack of haste. They scaled to the roof of the palace and, there, hesitated. The heavy burden Kurapika carried on his back was familiar enough, but the memory of that girl's blank expression had left an additional weight in his heart. He crouched low on the tall copper spire to peer down over the pandemonium below. From that vantage he watched yet more lightning crack the dark, spawned from too-low clouds that were only just beginning to take form. He used Gyo, then felt a cold stab of horror when it revealed nothing at all.

"What is this...?" Kurapika vaguely heard himself ask the question.

Beside him, Killua shook his head. His pale skin looked waxen in the moonlight. "I don't know. I couldn't move a muscle back there. Could you move?"

"No." His heartbeat sped up with a burst of adrenaline at the memory. It was not often he was made to feel helpless, even for so short a time. "This obviously isn't Nen, so-"

The end of his sentence was drowned out in a massive roar as a cyclone of flame erupted from the ground just beyond where those unnatural lightning bolts warred. It formed a whirling pillar of white fire hundreds of meters high that seared a bright line into his vision and threw off enough light to cast the illusion of day across the plains.

"They're both over there!" Killua's voice was nearly inaudible despite the fact that he was plainly shouting. He pointed a finger directly at the cataclysmic fire storm.

Squinting his eyes to shield his vision, Kurapika could just make out the two distant shapes. Earth showered up like from a line of detonating landmines to mark a path from one of those indistinct shapes to the other. Bolts of lightning – some of them thick as redwood trees – continually fell, stabbing down into the heaving ground or shattering in midair over no obstacle he himself could see. Then, all at once, the towering inferno flickered to nothing and darkness reclaimed the land. Kurapika had to close his eyes to let the afterimage fade and regain his night vision. The last of the rumbling thunder echoed away into the distance, then was silent. _I don't know what this situation is! What should I do? What have I done already?_

As Kurapika resurveyed his surroundings, the world seemed calmer than it had any right to. A touch of lavender had begun to color the sky on the horizon, announcing that the sun would be soon to rise. A light breeze tousled the dry grass of the plains and swept up to lift the hair back from his face. From far below, shouts rose as soldiers of the Holy Coventry began pouring out from the Palace. Kurapika heard a call for horses and responding whinnies as the animals were roused from the stables. One of his hands curled tighter around the strap of his backpack and Killua shot him a worried glance.

Kurapika found his conviction and straightened up. "I'm going to go after them."

Killua might have attempted a smirk, but it looked more like a grimace. "You're such an idiot sometimes." The men below were clambering into saddles haphazardly, screaming at one another. Killua sighed. "Fine. Let's get to the unexplained, dangerous phenomena before those jerks do." He tensed up, just briefly, before bounding away across the spires. Kurapika smiled to himself, feeling an absurd rush of gratitude, then leapt after him.

They hit the ground below the high wall at a sprint well before the Coventry soldiers could get themselves organized enough to send out their armed party. The battle – if that had even been what it was – appeared to have ended. At least there was no more destruction raining down from the sky or shooting up from the earth. Kurapika scanned the ground ahead as he ran, trying to push aside the anxious thought that they might find nothing more than a pair of crisped corpses.

There was not as much evidence of the immense devastation they had witnessed as he might have expected. Small craters littered the ground, and there were long swathes of grass that had been singed in perfectly straight lines. He and Killua slowed their pace together to approach a circular patch of bared earth, perhaps twenty meters in diameter, which had been burned completely clear. Thin tendrils of wispy smoke spiraled up from soot blackened rocks. Beside that spot, two human figures lie on the ground. One – the larger – was writhing and whimpering. The other, smaller form was still.

Kurapika ran to the girl, falling to his knees beside her and setting his fingertips to check for a pulse in her throat. Her skin was searing to the touch, but her heart was beating and she _was_ breathing. Her eyes flew open, wide with an immediate spark of fright that melted into surprise. "Ah, you."

"Yes," Kurapika said, rather numbly. "I did say that I would get you out of here."

The girl scrutinized him, or struggled to. She gave him a long and guarded look before her expression simply crumpled and her eyes brimmed with tears. "Why?"

He didn't get the chance to answer that one.

"No!" That enraged shriek came from the woman. She had lurched to her feet and been caught promptly by Killua, who looked uncomfortable as he held her arms behind her back to restrain her. Hostility twisted the features of her face. Her short black hair whipped about as she thrashed wildly and ineffectively to get free. " _Youna_ _ayende mia, dringhaela!_ Release me at once!"

"She is powerless, now," the girl mumbled, struggling to push herself up off the dirt. Her injured hand refused to help support her and Kurapika had to catch her as she collapsed. She was panting, her every breath shallow and uneven. Sweat beaded across her dirt-streaked forehead. "I decided to-" She made a low noise, somewhere in between a growl and a moan. "-not to kill her."

" _No!_ " The woman screamed again, even more wretchedly. "You fool girl! I should have given you over and watched him make you-" She sagged then, the fight draining from her all at once. Had Killua had not been holding her in place she would have dropped to her knees. "You cannot leave me alive, not- not severed like this. Please, you cannot. I will do anything you want." Her voice was trembling with desperation. As suddenly as that meekness had come, it was gone. Her head snapped up and she snarled, all malevolence once again. "He will have you yet! You will be grateful I removed your parents heads so they will not see-" She dropped limply, unconscious.

Killua looked up, abashed. He still had one hand raised from delivering the swift chop. "I wanted her to shut up." He seemed surprised by his own action, then clicked his tongue and let the woman fall the rest of the way to the ground.

Distantly, Kurapika became aware that the sound of horses hooves was galloping nearer every second. The girl's eyes had been closed ever since her failed attempt at rising. She was a quivering, feverish mess. He doubted she'd even heard any of the woman's vitriol. "We have to go. The next airship arrives early in the morning and the child needs a hospital."

Killua nodded, then prodded the unconscious body of the woman with his sneaker. "What do you wanna do about this one?"

Kurapika climbed to his feet and pulled the girl up with him, carrying her easily in one arm. She felt lighter than she should have been. "Leave her to the justice of the Holy Coventry."

"The _angreal_." The girl focused an urgent stare on him. "Please, would you...?" She coughed hard into her hand and caught a spray of blood. By the heavy fluttering of her eyelids, she was finding it difficult to keep her eyes open. "The bracelet... 'smy mother's."

Killua crouched beside the woman. At spotting the bracelet on her right hand, Kurapika felt a chill course through him. It was a network of slim golden chains connecting five finger rings to a banded wrist cuff. He found himself glancing down at his own right hand, where the chains he himself wore looked strikingly similar. Killua pulled the bracelet off the woman's hand and passed it to him.

Kurapika stared down at the piled gold chains in his palm. "We have the bracelet," he informed her, but a quick scrutiny showed that the girl was no longer in the present moment. Her eyes were half-shut, eyelids fluttering as she watched whatever was unfolding in her mind.

"Tell Papa... you saw me die," the girl mumbled against his chest. Her uninjured hand bunched into a fist around the fabric of his jacket. "Go, cos..." She shuddered violently, back arching, and then slumped again. After that there was only the rasping of her breath.

* * *

The girl remained incoherent and only semi-conscious while they waited out the dawn. Once aboard the airship, Kurapika managed to procure a couple of fever reducing pills from the first aid supply. When she reacted to the medication with delusional paranoia, Killua had to restrain her while Kurapika held her nose and made her drink them down. That felt cruel, but less cruel then letting the fever boil her brain before she could even make it to a hospital. After that brief struggle her body seemed to calm somewhat, and her skin had cooled by the time they landed. Kurapika perpetually wiped the blood from her face, but she kept hacking up more. It was horribly obvious that she was dying. _Will she make it to the hospital? I don't... want to watch a child die like this._

Senritsu was waiting at the airport to pick them up. Kurapika had explained the situation to her as best he could over the phone. Even if she hadn't fully understood what had happened, she surely had understood his urgency – probably far better than he did himself. Ordinarily he let no one else drive his car, but he felt reluctant to put the girl down so instead he held her in the back seat while Senritsu drove.

Killua, on the passenger side, called Leorio at the hospital so they would be prepped for their arrival. He darted an anxious glance backward every time the girl started babbling. On multiple occasions she did so in a foreign language. Killua made an attempt at deciphering that with the translator on his phone, but to no avail.

The car ride was blurred by his heightened emotions, just as the airship journey had been before that. When they made it to the hospital, Kurapika was the first out of the car and rushing inside. Leorio was indeed waiting for them, and his friend's presence helped to clear his frantic mind. Two nurses wheeled a stretcher over and Kurapika settled the girl onto it. Her eyes opened and flickered around fearfully.

"Relax, everything is okay." Kurapika put his face in front of hers and her gaze finally focused.

Her rigid muscles relaxed. She smiled weakly up at him, an uncertain expression. "Do I know you?"

"Yes. You're going to be okay now." Kurapika put as much assurance into his voice as he could, but the answer was still a trifle unsteady. She seemed to accept it well enough. At least she didn't struggle while Leorio slipped an oxygen mask over her face. Her grey-blue eyes blinked a few times with increasing slowness, and then closed as she fell thoroughly under the effects of the sedative.

Someone's hands were on his arms then, gently tugging him backward. The stretcher was being wheeled away. Leorio went with the stretcher. Kurapika wanted to follow. His friend's face was wan and serious, staring at the readout of a blood pressure cuff around the child's bony arm. Then the stretcher was through a pair of swinging doors and out of sight.

The hands on his arms squeezed briefly, comfortingly. He turned around to find Senritsu peering up at him with concern. "Are you okay?" she whispered. He managed a single nod.

Killua gulped, still staring in the direction the stretcher had vanished. Then he turned about face and shoved his hands roughly into his pockets. "We can't do anything here. I really hate waiting around in hospitals." That might have wrought a chuckle from Kurapika if he wasn't completely in agreement with the sentiment at the moment.

Senritsu nodded. "Leorio promised to call when he can update us."

Kurapika put a hand to his forehead, wearily pushing his hair out of his eyes. _I need to sleep. My head feels foggy. She will live now, won't she? Did I get her here in time?_ He let Senritsu drive again as they left. Fatigue fell more heavily upon him once he was reclining in the comfortable leather of the passenger seat and Kurapika let his head loll against the window. He drifted off in between dropping Killua at his hotel and arriving back at his own house outside the city. It was the engine shutting off that awoke him.

He unbuckled his seat belt and shifted, stretching his tired muscles. "Thank you, Senritsu."

"Do you need anything before I go?"

"I'd rather you didn't go," Kurapika said. "I need to get some sleep, and I-" _I feel the most at ease with you around._ "-I just-" _I just don't want to be by myself right now._

"Okay." Senritsu cut off his stammering smoothly, even as her cheeks flooded red. "I'll stay."

Kurapika smiled and hoped it conveyed his sincerity. His throat felt so dry. They climbed from the car to go inside. He dropped his backpack beside the door to the private shrine where he kept the remains he had recovered thus far and then continued on toward his bedroom. Senritsu paused, so he took her hand in his and then she followed along beside him. Once in his room he let her go and made a beeline for the nightstand, where he withdrew two shot glasses and a bottle of gin. He filled both shots and downed one, then refilled it. When he offered the other to Senritsu she declined with a polite shake of her head. He nodded understanding and drank both shots himself before replacing the bottle.

"That girl... who is she?" Senritsu asked hesitantly.

 _Good question._ Kurapika sat down on his bed to tug his shoes off. "I really don't know."

Senritsu frowned. "You're awfully worried about her."

Kurapika tossed his shoes into the corner, promptly burying them by tossing his suit jacket over there as well. Debating how to respond, he began unconsciously undoing the buttons of his shirt. At a faint squeak from Senritsu, he stopped after the third button. "Worried. Yes, I suppose that I am." He clasped his hands in his lap, staring down at the carpeted floor. "She was completely alone. I know what that feels like."

"Well, I think that it might be good for you, Kurapika-san." Senritsu's hand touched lightly to his cheek, prompting him to look up and meet her gentle eyes. "You keep yourself so closed off normally." She dropped her hand with a soft smile. "And she's very lucky to have someone as good as you worrying about her."

It was his turn to blush, if the heat rising to his face was any indication.

Senritsu spun around. "You should go ahead and get some rest now. I'll be around."

She left his bedroom without looking at him again. Kurapika felt a jolt of regret at seeing her go. _It's much easier to believe everything will be okay when Senritsu is near..._ He flopped backward onto his bed with a huff. The alcohol hitting his stomach was having the desired effect, at least. Kurapika closed his leaden eyelids and told himself he would let his eyes rest for just a moment before getting up to finish undressing.

* * *

Senritsu checked once on Kurapika after she heard the deep, rhythmic breathing of sleep start mere moments after she'd left his room. He was sprawled sideways across his bed with his arms outstretched, still wearing his belted slacks and dress shirt. She smiled fondly at the sight. Asleep, Kurapika actually looked his age. He was much more youthful and tender than he allowed anyone to be aware of. Yet she had heard his heart, and she knew that he felt everything more deeply than he let on.

He was so beautiful that it didn't even seem appropriate for someone like her to remain near him. She was a twisted, ugly, and broken thing; unworthy of the feelings she had developed. With a fond sigh, Senritsu retrieved a spare blanket from his linen closet to tuck over him.

"Sweet dreams," she whispered. In his sleep he turned toward her voice and she felt her heart skip with the thought that she might have woken him. As stealthily as possible, she left him alone and went back to the living room. To busy herself, she selected a novel from Kurapika's collection to read while she waited. She didn't mind waiting at all – not if it was for him.


	3. Hopelessly Lost, and Reluctantly Found

Naeva surfaced from a deep and dreamless darkness. She blinked, bewildered. _Where am I?_ An infernally bright light hovered above her face, so she rolled onto her side to avoid the way it made her head throb. The room she had woken in seemed quite small; everything within was pristine white or polished steel. _What is this place? Where is Moghedien? Where is- Light, the a'dam!_

She stilled completely while her mind replayed everything she could remember before waking up. _I am free. I am free! Right when I had almost given up. Who was that man?_ Naeva lifted her right hand, wanting to feel her throat and reaffirm that the blasted collar was gone, but it only rose a few inches before the motion was stopped short. Her eyes widened in terror and she sat up so quickly that her vision spun and her hollow stomach lurched. There was a piece of metal – like a needle – protruding from the top of her right hand. Attached to that was a thin tube, and the tube connected her hand to a bag of transparent liquid hanging from a tall steel rack. _What_ _is this? Am I being poisoned? Restrained? No one will restrain me!_

Naeva felt her heartbeat accelerating with the panicked thoughts and could not quite will herself to calm. _I will not be a captive! Never, ever again!_ She studied her left hand. It was thickly bandaged white with a stiff splint holding her thumb straight. Well, the rest of her fingers still seemed usable enough. She grabbed onto the slender needle-thing in her right hand with the pointer and middle of her left. Experimentally, she pulled on it. The needle tugged at her skin, but it did seem removable. Gritting her teeth, Naeva yanked it out in a motion too quick to overthink. There was a tiny spurt of blood which slowed to a trickle, and that but a small price to pay for regaining mobility. One of the strange devices beside the narrow bed she was on began making an unpleasant screeching noise.

Apprehensively, Naeva kicked the blanket off of herself and took stock of her physical state. Her muscles felt lax and had deteriorated to pathetic weakness. There was mildly painful pressure around her rib cage – it was tolerable. She remembered a few well aimed kicks from booted feet and decided it was likely that she had some broken ribs. Her shoulders ached, and the skin at her wrists and ankles was rubbed raw. An uncomfortable, burning pain accompanied her every breath. All things considered, she decided that her condition was decent. Someone had taken the time to bandage her up, after all.

As for whatever she was currently wearing... well, that was strange and made her more than a little uneasy. It may have been some form of tunic, but the fabric felt thinner than parchment and it only covered her to the tops of her knees. Worst of all, when she slid herself off of that high cot she felt an undeniable draft and discovered it had a vertical opening down the back. _Burn it all, what_ _is this dreadful place?_

Within a few seconds of surveying the room she was in more thoroughly, Naeva found that her confusion and frustration had only amplified. She was frightened again, as well, which provoked her temper further. Everything was so unfamiliar. What even was creating that light source on the ceiling? It certainly was not firelight, nor was it channeling. What was the metal basin in the corner with the odd levers? Not to mention those boxy devices with flashing colors and small buttons and the peculiar sounds they made. She shuddered.

Naeva had no more than begun to consider venturing out the door and looking for people when it began to be pushed open from the outside. She ran back to the bed and crouched on the far side of it. With a rush of euphoria, she opened herself to the light of the True Source and drew on Saidar. _It has been so long, but I can channel freely again! Thank the Light!_

An old woman walked in, snow colored hair piled high atop her deeply wrinkled face. Her eyes went first to the machine that had been making noise, and then to the empty bed over which Naeva was peeking at her. The woman jumped and dropped the papers in her hands with a squawk.

"Oh, my! Get back in bed right this instant, young Lady!" She all but barked the command.

Immediately suspicious, Naeva retreated a step toward the wall. "Why?"

Spots of red bloomed high on the woman's cheekbones. It seemed that she may be unused to having her authority questioned. "Because you're a patient, that's why, and patients belong in bed!" Her cheeks puffed with an angry exhalation of breath. "You've even pulled out your IV. Lie down now so that I can hook you back up."

A surge of paranoia overtook her. _IV? Is that supposed to mean something to me?_ "I have no desire to lie down and be hooked to-" _What in the Light_ are _these machines?_ "-to anything!" Naeva frowned, then added, "The last thing I can remember is that man with the yellow hair. Where is he?" She tried putting some authority into her own tone and discovered that it was not exactly possible to sound authoritative while her voice was so akin to a croak.

"I don't know anything about that. You can ask the doctor yourself, if you like. I'll go get him for you as soon as you lie down and let me put your IV back in." The woman crossed her arms and affixed her with a look that at least she was familiar with. Aes Sedai had given her that look often enough. It meant 'do what I say because I know better than you do', and in the present situation it infuriated her. For the first time in a very long while, Naeva belonged to herself. There was no way this blasted woman or _anybody_ else was going to make her feel like a prisoner again.

"I will do _no_ such thing!" The words came out with a good deal of vitriol. Croaking or not, Naeva surprised even herself with how fierce she sounded.

The woman's mouth fell agape. "Well, I never!" She swung her palm to the wall beside the door and pushed a button there. A blinking red light appeared from nowhere to pulse above her hand. "The doctor will straighten you out right quick."

 _Straighten me out? What does that mean?_ Naeva rose slowly from her crouch, staring at that red light. It felt threatening, even if she had no clue what it signified. "I have no need of straightening out, thank you very much." Her throat was beginning to feel unpleasantly sore. How long had it been since the last time she had spoken this much?

Two burly men appeared then to flank the old woman. She simpered over her shoulder at them. "Watch the child for me while I retrieve the doctor, please. She can't be trusted alone." Then, with a final outraged twist of her mouth, the woman left.

Naeva retreated until her back hit the wall behind her as the men moved into the room. They did not look hostile, but neither did they seem particularly friendly. _They are trying to keep me here. These people do not intend to let me leave. Well, I will not be held captive!_ She twitched aside the curtain on the wall behind her to reveal a large window. _This should serve nicely. Watch me, will you? Ha! Watch this._

In front of the men serving as guards, she wove a quick flow of Air and Water to make a soundproofed wall. They could not move any nearer now, unless perhaps other channelers were sent to overwhelm her. To be safe, she had best make this quick. Naeva turned around and placed her hand flat upon the window with a slight smile. The glass shattered into fine dust and she deposited it into a neat pile on the floor, then took a moment to enjoy the breeze that wafted in and played across her skin. As one, the men surged forward into her invisible ward. She wanted to laugh at their stunned expressions, but her heart was still racing a finicky rhythm. _You will not hold me, burn you! You cannot!_

Naeva climbed up onto the ledge, although it took more than one attempt. She was so weak. Once she was sitting on the sill, she let herself peer down at the outside world. What she saw made her vision blur and her stomach plummet. This was a frightfully tall construct. The ground, hundreds of spans below her, was peppered with walking people and moving... coaches, she decided to call them, even if there were no horses in sight. As far as she could see in any direction were more tall buildings separated by straight, flat lines of ground. _Light help me, what kind of a Mirror World_ _is this?_ Now she wanted to laugh _and_ weep, but this was no time to become hysterical.

She wove a Gateway. One end hovered underneath her feet and the other she opened perhaps two spans above the ground below. That helped considerably to settle her churning stomach. _That is a perfectly reasonable drop. I can do this_. A quick glance behind her showed both brawny guards were doing nothing more than ineffectively hammering on her wall of Air. Behind them, three more people had entered the room as far as they were able. The old woman had returned – livid, of course – with two new men in tow. One was elderly, dressed from head to toe in white that matched his thinning hair. He was shouting something, face scarlet and incredulous. The other was a tall dark haired young man, dressed similarly. He was wearing a headpiece fitted with tiny plates of glass that he stared through, and he looked at her differently than anyone else. His eyes were wide, compassionate. He seemed as if he were about to cry.

Well, it was too late now to allow any doubts. Naeva turned her attention back to her Gateway. Then she pushed off the ledge and let herself fall.

* * *

Kurapika's grip tightened around the steering wheel as he sped for the hospital. He felt irrationally riled by every other car on the road that dared be in his way. The girl had been under heavy sedation in the ICU for twelve hours after surgery – apparently one of her lungs was punctured by a sliver of broken rib and she had a dangerous infection. She had stabilized, thankfully, and slept the next eight hours away in a recovery room while her body recuperated. Only forty minutes ago he'd received a call from Leorio to inform him that she was being eased up to a lesser dosage of morphine and would likely awake within the next few hours. He and Senritsu had climbed back into his car and set off at once, because he had every intention of being there when she did. Then, barely five minutes away from the hospital he'd received yet another – considerably more frantic – call from Leorio. Something inexplicable had happened, as he should have predicted it would. _I should have been there. I should never have left._

Leorio's voice, instilled with tremulous reassurance, was still pouring from the speaker phone. Kurapika tried to keep listening, he really did, but his own thoughts were a deafening buzz.

"-searching everywhere. I don't see how she can make it very far-"

_I left her all alone. She woke up all alone._

"-severely malnourished-"

_She needs help. Why would she run?_

"-the damnedest thing! When she-"

_Where could she even have gone?_

"-have thought was possible. We're gonna find her, Kurapika."

Kurapika cranked the steering wheel and swerved into the hospital parking lot. "Yes, we will. I'll be right in." He pushed the button to disconnect the call with a finger that wanted to tremble.

The golden bracelet in his jacket pocket felt immensely heavy.

Kurapika pulled in a deep breath to steady himself. "Senritsu, will you please get the map out of the dashboard compartment?" She obliged him and handed it over quickly. "Thank you." _She couldn't have made it far... maybe. I'm less certain of that. Those portals she used in Yverris... What if I_ can't _find her?_ They both climbed out of the car.

"Hey, Kurapika!" That shouted greeting was from Gon. _Senritsu only_ _just called them and they beat me here? I should have parked the car and ran, myself._ Gon jogged up the sidewalk toward him. "We're supposed to find someone?"

Kurapika nodded his head mutely. _That's right. We are absolutely going to find her. I can't start panicking and doubting myself. Why would she run?_

"That girl looked like a runner, to me. I figured she might try to bolt." Killua exhaled a weary breath as he ambled up beside Gon. It was quite unnerving to have his unspoken question answered so casually. "That's exactly why I didn't breathe a word about her to Alluka."

Perhaps catching sight of Kurapika's blank expression, Gon punched Killua on the shoulder. "Don't be such a know-it-all right now! We're here to help, remember?"

"Kurapika-san?" Senritsu blinked up at him worriedly. "Let's go inside and lay out the map, okay?"

"Yes." Kurapika used the comfort of her sweet voice again – he did that all too often – to restore his conviction. "Let's go."

His friends talked while they all made their way into the hospital. Hopefully they weren't saying anything to him directly, because he was not responding. Kurapika's mind held the image of the girl, his hand curled tight around the map he held. _She woke up alone and she must have been so afraid. I hope that I can still find her. Of course I can find her._

The doors opened automatically and Leorio was there right away. "Kurapika! Everyone, damn. I'm glad you're here now. I just found someone to trade the last hours of my shift to, so I'll be able to help."

"What exactly happened?" Gon asked, his normally bright expression marred by a worried frown.

"She jumped out the window." Leorio shivered. "On the _nineteenth_ floor! I swear I tried to stop her – I wasn't even the only one – but there was some kind of invisible barrier."

Killua nodded once. "That's not too surprising. The girl did something in Yverris to immobilize Kurapika and me."

"The nineteenth floor? But she was okay?" Gon sounded both shocked and impressed.

"Yeah. Man, you should've seen the security footage!" Leorio's voice rose in amplitude. "She dropped and then disappeared and then..."

Their voices faded as Kurapika tuned them out. He was already cutting a direct path to the closest empty table, where he spread the map of the city out as evenly as he could. Senritsu stood beside him while he held his hand suspended over the paper. The dowsing chain dropped and rested motionless. Kurapika closed his eyes. He remembered how overly light she had been when he carried her, that the smell of her had been all coppery blood and sweat slicked dust and that wild mess of tangled hair. Straining his senses further, he heard her high voice mumbling fervent words he couldn't understand. The mental image of the girl solidified – bruised skin stretched over battered bones and that determined, pale gaze as the focal point. He felt the dowsing chain swing and opened his eyes to look down.

"Not far at all." Senritsu spoke with plain relief, but then the chain swung again. The motion was more rapid then it should have been, and the new building it pointed out was another seven city blocks beyond the first.

"She must be using those portals. I suppose it's fortunate that she's still in the city at all," Kurapika said lowly.

"Oh, wow," Gon commented. Kurapika hadn't even noticed the rest of them wandering over. Again, the pendulum swung to indicate a different building and Gon's eyes went wide. "That's pretty cool." He looked a trifle embarrassed after having said that, and offered a chagrined smile. More movement from the dowsing chain, but this time much slower. She was walking.

Killua smirked. "Let's see if those portals make her fast enough to be a challenge."

* * *

Alluka scuffed her feet as she shuffled down the sidewalk. Killua had been back from Yverris for less than a full day when a phone call from Senritsu had made him leave again. This time he'd even taken Gon along. _Why do I never get to go?_ Her brother hadn't even told her what had happened on his trip, though he was obviously troubling over something. When she'd asked him directly why he was reluctant to talk about it, all he had said was that he wasn't sure how anything was going to work out yet.

Then his cell phone had rang, and whatever had been said must have been bad news. He and Gon were out the door with the promise that they'd be back by dinnertime. Killua had given her a handful of bills and said he was very sorry that he had to go, but she could walk around town if she wanted just as long as she stayed near to the hotel and made sure to be back before it got late. And of course she had decided to follow his advice, because sitting in a boring hotel room by herself sounded genuinely miserable after having been cooped up in said room for two weeks already.

Alluka mused to herself that she should be proud, all things considered, that her brother thought her competent enough to finally leave her even for a short while without a babysitter. Still, she would have been much happier to be included. It was demoralizing that whenever there was trouble she was expected to sit on the sidelines and let everyone else sort it out. Sometimes she felt so useless.

Alluka pushed aside the negative thoughts and quickened her pace. The sun was not yet beginning to descend, but she'd grown bored by herself in town and decided to go back to the room and wait. Maybe Killua would return earlier than expected. She slurped idly on the frozen coffee she had bought and tried to feel less lonesome.

Her life was a _thousand_ times better now than she'd ever expected it to be. That was thanks entirely to her brother and his friends. She was free, able to have a wealth of new experiences that she'd only ever dreamed of. But... she still wanted something more. She was envious of her brother's ability to make friends on his own – jealous of the bond between he and Gon. It felt like no matter how she tried, she would always be incapable of earning anything like that on her own.

Alluka took another long pull from her straw and gave herself a brain freeze. She halted, slapping a hand to her forehead with a wince. In her peripheral vision, she thought she saw a minty green shape streak around her and into the nearby alley. Alluka lowered her hand and blinked into the dark shadows there, but didn't see anything move again.

"Hey! Out of the- whew- out of the way!"

She looked forward just in time to see a fat, wheezing security guard come barreling toward her at what must surely be his top speed. Eyes wide, Alluka stumbled backward. Unfortunately, she wasn't quick enough to avoid a glancing impact that tossed her onto her rear end on the sidewalk. The man grunted and glared briefly down at her before running into the alleyway.

"Ouch," Alluka complained to herself, scrambling back to her feet and sparing only a single, mournful glance for the frothy puddle that was the remains of her drink. She threw the empty cup away and brushed herself off.

 _I didn't like that._ Nanika thought.

 _I didn't either. What a rude man!_ Alluka turned to go, already planning on forgetting the embarrassing incident, when suddenly the hefty man came flying out of the alley as though he'd been thrown. He fell hard to the sidewalk and lost his grip on his club, which promptly levitated by itself and wiggled in front of his round face. The man paled, surging awkwardly to his feet and sprinting back in the direction from which he had come with a wordless shriek. The club clattered lifelessly to the sidewalk and the guard continued running until he was well out of sight.

Alluka didn't bother to stifle her giggles, delighted to witness such instant karmic retribution. A prickling of curiosity ran through her; a tingling excitement from her scalp to her toes. It might be stupid to go and look in the alley – no, it would definitely be stupid. Whatever had tossed that fat man out could toss her just as easily. Regardless, Alluka only hesitated for a handful of seconds before giving in to her curiosity. She took the few steps necessary to put her at the corner of the alley and peered more deeply into the shadows.

There was only a girl – maybe close to her own age – slumped with her back against a dumpster and struggling to pull on a large sweater. She had a startling number of bruises across her skin. Her right arm was through one of the sweater sleeves but she was cradling her left – the hand of which was obscured beneath thick bandaging – against her midsection, eyes closed while she breathed deeply and seemed to be bracing herself.

Without bothering to think about it too much, Alluka took a few steps toward her. "Hi."

The girl's eyes shot wide open, a pale steel-blue. At first she stiffened and looked afraid, but as their gazes remained locked she began to relax. "Hello?" The greeting was uncertain. Her voice was raspy and weak.

Alluka took another step, and the girl shifted as though tempted to run away. _Is she afraid of_ me _?_ Alluka offered her what she hoped was a comforting smile. "Can I- do you need any help?"

There was a long silence, and just when she had begun to feel awkwardly as though the girl wouldn't reply, she did. Her lips trembled and she hung her head, embarrassed. "Perhaps I do."

Alluka approached the rest of the way. She took the empty sleeve of the sweater and stretched it wide so the girl could push her injured hand through. Once that was accomplished, the girl breathed a sigh of relief and tugged the sweater fully down around herself. It was cable knit wool in a rusty orange, and several sizes too large for her. With her right hand, the girl pulled the bulk of her hair free and the wildly tangled brown locks tumbled to her knees. The wide neckline slipped off one of her shoulders and she tugged it hastily back up. Beneath the hem of the bulky sweater she had on a pair of snug khaki pants that still bore a price sticker attached to the front of them. Her feet were bare, and beside where she stood there was a puddle of green cloth on the ground.

 _A hospital gown?_ Alluka decided not to comment. She reached out a hand and pulled the sticker off of the girl's pants with an amused shake of her head. "I'm Alluka, by the way." She looked up with a hesitant smile and was happy to see it returned.

"My name is Naeva." The girl bowed, adding a small flourish of her right hand to make the gesture something more grand than Alluka was used to seeing. Her motion caused the sweater to slip and she had to tug it back up again, this time with an accompanying pout.

Alluka grinned. "I'm happy to meet you."

Naeva nodded briskly. "I return that sentiment. You are-" She pushed herself away from the dumpster to stand unsupported, though there was a wobbly moment while she settled her balance. Her gaze wavered with reluctance and then firmed. "-you are most kind, Mistress Alluka."

Alluka blinked several times, feeling bashful. "You're welcome. Um, and you can just call me Alluka..." She tilted her head. "Why were you being chased?"

Naeva visibly bristled. A light of anger sparked in the back of her shadow rimmed eyes. "Everyone has been chasing me!" That flare of temper melted to remorse. "Admittedly... I may have deserved it, that time." She looked down to fiddle with the hem of the large sweater. "I needed clothes and that man saw me pilfer these. He was very quick for someone so large, and I rather panicked." One of her bare feet kicked at the dirty gown on the ground.

Alluka bit lightly on her lower lip before responding. "Are you in trouble?"

The other girl appeared conflicted. When she finally answered, it was in a weak whisper, "I do not know where I am."

"Oh. You're lost?" Alluka asked. "This is Swaldani City. Do you know how you got here?"

Naeva held up the collar of her sweater to facilitate a shrug. "I was taken here." When Alluka gave her a shocked look, the other girl merely shook her head. "That matters little. I only..." Her words trailed off and she swept a suspicious glance about the alley. When their gazes met again, Naeva's expression softened. "If I tell you the truth, you will think me stark flaming _mad_."

Alluka's heart gave a squeeze of compassion. She wanted to be able to say the right thing to put this girl at ease. "I won't." She smiled with as much warmth as she was capable.

After a ponderous moment, Naeva nodded. "I am not from this world, and-" She tried to take a deep breath and it hitched in her throat. There was frustration in her voice as she went on. "-and I know nothing here. Burn me, for I have been running like a jackrabbit from everything."

Alluka's knees nearly gave out at the unexpectedness of it. Her mind reeled.

_Alluka!_

_I know, Nanika. I heard it too._

_Is it possible?_

_How should I know? I just can't believe it's-_

_That's exactly-_

_**-what they all said about us.** _

Alluka realized that she'd been staring, dumbstruck, and closed her dropped jaw with an audible click. The girl was eyeing her – cautious, as though she expected to hear a scream at any second. Alluka chose to go with her instincts. She reached out and took the other girl by the right hand. _She actually needs my help. Has anyone ever needed_ _my help before?_ Nanika's help, yes, but never her own. Alluka squeezed Naeva's hand within both of hers. "I believe you," she said with confidence.

The other girl's eyes widened. "Truly, you do? Blood and bloody _ashes!_ " By the vehement emphasis on that last, she may have been cursing.

Alluka summoned a wide smile. "Yep." She hesitated there, treading into unfamiliar social territory. "Would you, maybe- do you need a place to go? A safe place?"

"I ought not-" Naeva's stomach rumbled then, so loudly that her words choked off and she glared down at her own abdomen as if it had personally offended her. Humiliation reddened her cheeks.

"I'm pretty hungry, too," Alluka said. The statement earned her a few startled blinks. "Maybe we can have some dinner together?"

Naeva's eyes brightened when she smiled. "I should like that, Mistre- ah, Alluka."

Feeling proud of that small progress, Alluka grinned. She tugged on her hand to draw the girl forward and out of the alley – already excited and deliberating over room service options – but a rapidly moving figure skidded to a stop to block their path.

"Alluka? What-" Her brother's eyes goggled, then narrowed to an opposite extreme when his gaze slipped to Naeva. "- _you!_ We finally caught you!"

Alluka felt the hand in hers be yanked free and she turned to see Naeva make the attempt at sprinting away.

As always, Killua was faster than anybody. Her brother was blocking Naeva's escape before Alluka had even turned even halfway around. His expression was incredulous. "Why the hell are you running?"

Naeva drew in a sharp breath at his reappearance and almost stumbled as she recoiled. Once she'd recovered, however, she was furious. Her good hand curled to a tight fist at her side. "I am not going to be caught by anyone!" she shouted right in Killua's face, then ran on past him. He only stood there, motionless for some odd reason.

"Wait!"

Again, Alluka had to whirl about face. This time it was Kurapika at the end of the alleyway, panting for breath. Despite the urgency of his shout, he wore a faint smile. Gon ran up beside him and both Senritsu and Leorio followed just seconds behind. Alluka stared at the lot of them. _I am so, so, so confused. Why is everyone here? What's going on?_

"Alluka?" Gon gave her much the same flabbergasted expression that her brother had, then laughed when his eyes focused on something over her shoulder. "Jeez, Killua, you look so pissed off!"

Well, that required her to turn once more. Her brother hadn't shifted at all, and to say that he looked pissed off was putting it kindly. Naeva had stopped – probably at Kurapika's calling out to her – and after a few seconds she started to walk back. Her gaze was locked on the group at the end of the alley, but when she approached Killua she swept him with a scrutinous look. She covered her mouth with her hand to muffle the sound of her gasp.

All at once Killua could move again, although at first he only shook with rage. It looked like he was expending a great deal of effort, and likely to hold back on a tirade. Alluka stepped forward to take up her brother's hand and he gradually relaxed, favoring her with a soft look before directing a piercing glare again at Naeva.

Naeva struggled with her composure, by turns appearing prideful or contrite. She settled on something nearer to weary. "I ran because that is what you _do_ when someone is chasing you." She wilted a bit after offering that defense. "But I remember you, now."

"Maybe I chose my words poorly," Killua said through gritted teeth, "but you've been a major pain in the ass to track down."

Naeva bowed – more deeply, this time. "I owe you a great debt for the actions you undertook to free me. For the offense I committed in using the power against you, I humbly apologize." As she stood up straight again, Killua's anger seemed to have been lost beneath his embarrassment. _They know each other? I don't understand... does this have something to do with what happened in Yverris?_

The rest approached while Killua was still staring uncomfortably down at the pavement and scuffing the toe of his sneaker. Kurapika gave Naeva a gentle, nervous look. That was uncharacteristic – Kurapika was many things, but she'd never seen him be nervous before. "Do you remember me, as well?"

For an instant it appeared Naeva might cry, but then the sheen of tears was gone and Alluka was left doubting whether she'd actually seen it at all. Naeva bent in a bow extravagant enough to outdo all of her previous. "Indeed, I do. You are the one who removed the _a'dam._ I cannot possibly overstate my gratitude to you."

Kurapika frowned. "Are you okay?"

At the same time, Leorio crossed his arms. "Chit-chat can happen later. We need to be getting you to the hospital."

Naeva looked between the two of them. "What is a hoss-pittle?"

Everyone expressed surprise at that question and at first Alluka wondered why. "Oh, yeah." She fidgeted when they all glanced at her. "It's just that, well, Naeva mentioned how she isn't from around here... or anywhere like here, probably." _I'm always so awkward. Did that even make sense?_

_That made sense to me, Alluka._

_It did?_

_Aye!_

For the most part, her explanation was taken well. Her brother frowned thoughtfully, but Gon went so far as to nod understanding. Gon was very good at accepting strangeness.

Kurapika set a hand gingerly atop the girl's shoulder. "Your name is Naeva?" She only inclined her head in the affirmative. "I'm Kurapika. A hospital is-"

Leorio overrode him with impatience. "It's where we were _trying_ to make you well again before-"

"I recognize you!" Naeva interrupted, aghast. Then her eyes narrowed in icy accusation. "So that place was a hospital? They were going to restrain me _._ "

"So that you wouldn't injure yourself further! Y'know, maybe by doing something totally insane like leaping out of a window!" Leorio spluttered in indignation, then gulped. His voice fell to a whisper. "I thought you were a goner the second you dropped."

Naeva frowned, then smoothed that expression away and stuck her chin up in the air. "I am quite fine." Her stomach growled again, as if determined to interfere with her air of stately grace.

"You're nowhere near _fine_ ," Leorio said emphatically, but his tone was kind now. "You need food, and you need to be put back on your antibiotic regimen as soon as possible." He rubbed a hand across the nape of his neck. "Honestly, I don't know how you've been managing to run around like you have. Aren't you in pain?"

"It is bearable." Naeva tried to shrug and the action forced her to tug the collar of that ridiculous sweater up again.

Leorio caught her left wrist before she could lower it. He winced. "You even broke your splint." There was a vivid stain of red across the white bandaging over her thumb.

"Ah." Naeva glanced down at her hand, then directed a wry smile at Alluka. "My lack of vigilance allowed the large man a lucky strike with his club."

Alluka giggled. "You got him back. I thought it was hilarious." They shared a grin, although everyone else was plainly baffled. Alluka felt light on her feet. It was fun, that small moment of having a private joke.

Kurapika knelt to meet Naeva's eye level. "Will you please return to the hospital with us? I can guarantee that nobody will restrain you because I won't leave you alone this time, okay?"

Naeva stared at Kurapika for a long moment and then encompassed everyone else with a quizzical glance before looking back at him. "Why were you even searching for me? I have nothing to offer any of you as recompense."

"Recompense? Why are you so weird?" Killua asked, eyebrow quirked upward in confusion. Gon half-stifled a laugh.

Kurapika only shook his head. "Disregard Killua. I think he forgets sometimes that he's exceedingly weird, himself." Her brother glowered at the back of his head for that, not that Kurapika took notice. "I want to help you because helping you is the right thing to do."

For the first time since the others had appeared, some real vulnerability showed in Naeva's expression. Her eyebrows drooped. "Is it truly so necessary that I go back to that... hospital place?"

"It is," Kurapika said firmly.

Naeva snapped back to cool poise. "Very well, Master Kurapika."

He looked something close to appalled at having been addressed like that. "You really shouldn't call me Master."

"Ah, pardon me," Naeva apologized hurriedly, then bent into another steep bow. "Lord Kurapika."

There was a beat of silence before Gon and Killua dissolved into dual laughing fits. Leorio appeared torn between joining them and maintaining his no-nonsense attitude about ushering Naeva back to the hospital. He snorted, anyway. Kurapika only paled, and Senritsu focused a worrisome look on him.

Naeva was unfazed by their reactions. She turned away from Kurapika and a flash of silver alighted just above the cement in the alley. What started as a thin beam of brightness twisted and pulled apart from itself to make a sort of hole in reality. Alluka gasped loudly. Naeva swiveled a glance backward, concerned. "Have you never before traveled by gateway? Please, I must warn you to be mindful of the sharp edges. I cannot reattach a severed limb." That said, she hopped into the hole and dropped straight through the ground to disappear.

Alluka darted forward and was caught by her brother, who grumbled something under his breath about losing limbs. Killua picked her up and approached the... gateway, had she called it? Gazing down through that squareish opening, there was sidewalk below. Naeva stared up at them, calm and patient.

"It's so much cooler up close!" Gon said, then jumped without any further ado. He landed just beside Naeva and grinned at her, then glanced all around before hollering back up at them. "Straight to the hospital, just like that!"

Killua jumped before his best friend had finished speaking, probably feeling challenged by the display of bravery. He kept her tucked closely to himself as they passed through the portal. Leorio went next, and then Kurapika. They all glanced toward the tall hospital building with varying degrees of awe and appreciation. A few of the people passing by on the sidewalk ogled, but nobody said anything.

Naeva stared at everyone's shock like she thought they might have lost their minds. "It is only a gateway," she murmured.

"Actually, I think maybe I'll just walk back." Senritsu's voice trembled down to them.

Kurapika stepped forward to peer up at her. "You can jump through. It's safe enough." When she only shook her head, he held out his arms. "I'll catch you."

As nervous as she'd looked before, Senritsu took it up a notch. Her voice rose in pitch. "Well, I'm actually quite heavy, so-"

"Nonsense. Come on." Kurapika smiled.

Senritsu pressed her lips together in a thin line. She eyed the edges of the gateway with skepticism. Then she dragged in a shaky breath and jumped into it with her eyes squeezed shut. As he'd said he would, Kurapika caught her neatly. Senritsu let out her held breath, then opened one eye to peek up at him. Her face turned rapidly pink. "Thank you, Kurapika-san."

"I would catch you anytime, Senritsu," Kurapika said, the words as soft as his expression. That moment between the two of them seemed suddenly intimate. He set Senritsu down and his touch lingered just a little longer than it had to as he straightened back up again.

Alluka might've cooed for how sweet it all was, but then she was also reminded that her brother was still holding _her_ up. She hastily clambered to her own feet.


	4. An Offer, and an Oath

It only took Kurapika dropping his name to the right person to secure Naeva one of the VIP rooms in the hospital. He didn't like to think of himself as notorious – although that was often the way people looked at him – yet heading the Nostrade Family did have its benefits. In this case, the girl seemed so terrified of the hospital that it was the least he could do to try making her more comfortable here. There was some disarray over the fact that she had no identification, but the hospital was willing to overlook that. He was one of their most generous donors, after all. Altogether, Kurapika felt strangely light of heart as he turned away from the reception desk to rejoin everyone else in the lobby.

He was still buzzing on the immense relief of having found her at all. It had _not_ been easy. As quickly as they could bound from one tall rooftop to another throughout the city, she'd kept well ahead of them. Each time as they had gotten within sight, she was already moving on. It took her only a moment to jump seemingly as far as she wanted to, and her direction had been entirely unpredictable. They only had those flashes of silver to look out for to even spot where in the distance she might have disappeared to. The map had to be consulted whenever they missed the faraway flashes, or for when she switched from the roofs to the streets. That further complicated the process and wasted precious time. Leorio's repeated, incredulous grumbling about her physical state hadn't helped with morale. If it weren't for her having been waylaid – rather astoundingly – by Alluka, it was discomfiting to think of how much longer it might have taken to catch up with her.

"-lowering your fever."

Kurapika caught the last of Leorio's words as he approached. His friend spoke with utmost patience in his tone.

Naeva finished the bottle of water she had been drinking and Leorio passed her a new one, along with two yellow pills. She aimed a slight frown down at the medication in her palm. "This does not look like anything at all. I do not understand." She arched an eyebrow at Leorio. "Are there no healers in this city?"

Killua muffled a snicker with an upraised hand.

Leorio's jaw dropped. "That's what I am!" His patience may have been starting to strain, just a little. "Well, I'm in training still, but that's- just forget about that. You can trust the doctors here. Doctors are healers."

Her frown only became more pronounced. "I meant an Aes Sedai, or an Asha'man, or..." Her sentence faded away when everyone stared at her. "Never you mind," Naeva said, then popped the pills into her mouth and swallowed them down with a long drink. At the taste, she grimaced.

"It's like you're speaking in another language," Gon remarked, his tone wondering.

"She did, when she was totally out of it," Killua said glibly. "My phone couldn't even make a translation." The girl pointedly avoided his suspicious glance.

Kurapika stepped in. "I secured you a private room." He gestured toward the elevators lining the wall. "We should head on up."

Naeva nodded and followed along complacently, right up until everyone else had filed into the elevator. There, she halted. "That is only a tiny room." Her eyebrows drew together. She looked confused, maybe just slightly worried. "There are not even any windows."

Kurapika reached out to stall the doors when they began to close. "This isn't your room, Naeva. This is only how we get up to your room."

Killua was fighting plain amusement again – nice of him to attempt holding it in.

"Very well." Naeva schooled her expression and walked across the threshold to join them. Her show of composure did not last very long. Paranoia was visible in her as the doors slid shut on them. The instant that the elevator moved, paranoia gave way to guarded fear. Naeva grabbed onto Kurapika's arm, blinked at her own compulsive action as if partially bothered by it, then peered up at him. "What _is_ this? How is it moving?"

Though he'd been entertained by her earlier trepidation, Killua actually appeared concerned now. He took it upon himself to answer her. "It's an elevator. Basically, it's a steel box suspended on a cable that pulls it up or lowers it down." There was a surprising amount of gentleness in his tone.

For all that it was meant kindly, that explanation tipped the girl right over the edge into outright panic. "A cable?" Naeva emitted a reedy whimper and then all but adhered herself to Kurapika, burying her face against his side.

The reality that she was turning to him for comfort stunned him motionless. It was a staggeringly unfamiliar position to find himself in. The indicator above the doors ticked to the number five. They still had eighteen floors to go and she was holding her breath, trembling. Kurapika stood utterly still for too long. He might never have reacted at all if he hadn't caught sight of Killua's chastising glare. The younger boy mimed patting his sister's head, gestured impatiently that he should do the same. Senritsu, beside him, nodded hurriedly.

After a further moment of hesitation, Kurapika patted the top of Naeva's head. Her trembling didn't stop, but she did relax just a bit and she remembered to breathe. He felt absurdly proud that he'd been able to assuage such a small fraction of her fear. Killua gave an exaggerated roll of his eyes and hugged Alluka. Over her shoulder, he nodded – equal parts patronizing and encouraging.

Kurapika gingerly put his arms around the girl. Despite how timid he was about it, the action calmed her further. She moved closer to him. He felt that sense of accomplishment again. Gon offered an enthusiastic grin and a thumbs up.

When the motion of the elevator came to a stop, Naeva pulled away. She fixed an unblinking stare on the doors until they opened, allowing her to sprint out into the corridor. "Blood and-" She panted for breath, leaning against one of the large windows in the hall. "-bloody ashes." Whatever that meant, it sounded scathing.

Alluka went straight to her and rubbed a hand in circles across her back. "You really came from a different place, huh?"

Naeva nodded without shifting her gaze from the window. "Vastly different." She hardly even whispered that.

Leorio took it upon himself to get them moving beyond that odd diversion. He dropped his hand lightly to Naeva's shoulder. "Come on. You must be really hungry, right? We'll get you settled and back on the proper medicine, and then we'll get you some food."

"I feel like somebody should give her forewarning about how terrible hospital food is," Killua drawled. "Or, better yet, order her a pizza or something."

Gon put a hand on his stomach. "Mmm. Pizza sounds awesome."

"I vote for pizza, too!" Alluka said.

Naeva glanced between them, opened her mouth, and then closed it without saying a word.

"The food isn't that terrible," Leorio grumbled, but halfheartedly. "Although... I could go for some pizza."

Kurapika exchanged a wryly humored look with Senritsu.

When they made it to their large, more lavish room – one of two dozen reserved for wealthy hospital patrons – Naeva avoided looking directly at any of the machinery. She moved further inside only when Leorio nudged her toward the bed.

A doctor swept in behind them all just as Naeva was reluctantly sitting down. The white haired man had his eyes planted on his clipboard. "Alright, now, let's see..." He uttered a few comments to himself before finally looking up at Naeva. "We'll get you a new IV and splint right off."

Leorio stretched his arms overhead. "I'll just step out for the pizza and-"

"What?" Naeva interjected, bristling up indignantly. She aimed a critical look at the doctor, then a sweetly pleading one at Leorio. "But I was under the impression that _you_ were my healer, Master Leorio."

Leorio was immediately flustered. "I mean, I'm not on shift, or anything, and-" He pointed emphatically at the white haired man. "He's a full doctor, y'know, and technically I'm not, so..."

Her expression fell into an impressive pout. "I do not trust him. I trust _you_."

The doctor huffed. He appeared ready enough to protest, but he never got the chance.

Leorio straightened himself up self-importantly. His chest even puffed. "I can handle this," he declared, then promptly colored and lowered his voice to a stage whisper. "If that's okay with you, Dr. Haryin."

"I suppose it's fine." Dr. Haryin scowled, but he did hand the clipboard over. "But she's still my patient. Be sure to initial everything, so I'll know exactly who to hold accountable if something goes wrong."

"Yes, Doctor." Leorio put some meekness into that, then affected a cheeky grin as soon as the doctor left the room. He whirled to Naeva and she beamed up at him, although that bright expression slipped considerably when he picked up the IV needle.

"That thing again? What does that thing do?" She swallowed hard, eyes fastened on the slim needle.

"It delivers medication into the bloodstream," Leorio explained as he sat in the wheeled stool beside her bed.

Naeva did not seem very reassured, but she did let Leorio take her arm. He cuffed up her baggy sleeve and she watched with grim fascination while he inserted the needle. From then, she narrowed her eyes to study his process of connecting the bags of saline fluid and antibiotics. "How long must I remain here?"

Leorio started unwrapping the bandaging on her hand before he answered. "Dr. Haryin will decide that. It'll depend on-" He cut off, perhaps noticing her uneasy expression.

"I can push for the minimum," Kurapika put in. "What would that be, Leorio?"

Leorio shook his head, swabbing disinfectant over the freshly split skin on Naeva's swollen thumb. "I don't know. One more day, maybe. The infection in her lungs has to be cleared up." He frowned and changed the subject, eyeing Naeva a bit hesitantly while he spread balm over her damaged hand. "What's the story with this thumb? I've never seen an x-ray like it. You must've broken it over a dozen times."

She waved her right hand dismissively. "I have not been counting."

"You broke it yourself. To get out of restraints," Killua said with a frown. He shrugged when everyone glanced to him. "Am I right?"

Naeva nodded once.

Leorio winced. She caught sight of the sympathetic expression and scowled.

 _A dozen times? How long did that woman keep her captive?_ Kurapika felt like wincing, too, but he held it in. "How old are you, Naeva?"

He had thought that would be a simple enough question, so it was odd that she didn't treat it like one. Her lips pursed while she gave it serious thought. "I am uncertain. It felt like springtime outside today. Is it Aine? Amad?"

"Ayyn, Ah-mahd..." Gon repeated the strange words experimentally, then smiled with chagrin. "I dunno what those are, but it _is_ spring. It's May."

Naeva was quiet a long moment, gazing reflectively out the window while Leorio finished applying the new bandage. "I am most likely twelve years."

 _Most likely._ Kurapika very carefully didn't let his horror at that show. _So she was a prisoner long enough to lose track of time._ He felt at the pocket of his jacket and then walked over to crouch beside the bed. When he pulled the gold bracelet out and laid it in Naeva's palm, she wavered just for a split second with grief before her expression blanked.

She curled her fingers tightly around the bracelet. "Thank you."

He was uncertain of how to proceed further. Hoping pitifully for some more of Killua's insight, Kurapika darted a beseeching glance at him. Killua's eyes widened, looking just as uncomfortable as he himself felt. _I suppose there's really no easy way to do this._ Kurapika returned his solemn focus to Naeva. "Is there anyone or anyplace we can help you find?"

She stared down at her closed fist and shook her head. "There is no one, and no place that you could possibly find." Her voice was an apathetic monotone.

Kurapika kept his expression even. _No one... she's really all alone? There's no place she calls home?_

"Where are you from?" Senritsu asked quietly.

At that, the girl surfaced from her vacant state. She blinked around the room – flinching at the medical equipment – and then settled her gaze on Alluka's.

Alluka smiled, brightly optimistic. "You can tell them!" That assurance aside, she focused a very grave look on each of them in turn. "Nobody will freak out." She grabbed at her brother's hand, focusing most intently on him. Killua frowned, but said nothing.

Naeva unfurled her fingers. The bracelet floated up into midair, then slipped itself onto her right hand. As the band clicked around her wrist, the gold shrank to fit her snugly. "I am from a world that is separate from this one. A mirror world."

"Whoa." Gon was the first to reply. And maybe it was barely a reply at all, but at least he'd managed to say something. Kurapika felt stunned, replaying the mad rantings of Evritt Malimar in his mind. Killua looked sick to his stomach.

Leorio gulped. "Like an alternate dimension? Like some sci-fi movie?"

"Possibly," Naeva said. "I do not know what... a sci-fi movie is." Something in her seemed to give way as she went on, "I do not know what is creating that light on the ceiling, or what any of these strange devices are. I assume that pizza is some variety of foodstuff, but I have never heard of it." She waved her hand to gesture at the room in general. "Almost everything I have encountered thus far has been entirely foreign."

Killua gave his head a rough shake. It seemed an endeavor for him, but he regathered his composure. He pointed a finger up at the covered light bulb. "That's an electric light. You've never heard of electricity? What are you used to, torches and candles?"

A thin smile curved her lips and she nodded. "Yes. Firelight would be familiar. Or-" Naeva held up her hand and an orb of ghostly white light hovered above her open palm. "-light created by channeling. Whatever... ee-leck-triss-itee... is..." Her smile faded with the sentence. "Is that also the power moving that awful steel box up and down? And those loud, horseless coaches outside?"

"Damn," Killua cursed hoarsely. "You're really..."

"Outta this world!" Gon finished for him, then laughed at his own joke. Alluka giggled, too.

Naeva dropped her hand back to the bed and her conjured light winked out. She smiled, looking hopeful. "Is that funny? Not frightening?"

Gon returned her smile with enthusiasm. "We've seen a lot of weird things before. I think it's fantastic."

"But that means the beaver-den dude wasn't completely delusional," Killua mumbled to himself. He then turned pink when everyone save Kurapika gave him a strange look for that.

"Cars!" Alluka said suddenly, breaking another extended silence. Naeva shot her a curious look and Alluka grinned. "The horseless coaches. They're called cars."

Leorio laughed, but it was a bit of a choked noise. He spun to face the wall, pushing his glasses up to wipe at the wetness beneath his eyes. "You d-definitely need to try pizza."

* * *

It was an exercise in the macabre to watch Naeva – who looked more like a skeleton than anybody should – ravenously devour three slices of pizza. Killua didn't have much of an appetite, himself, but he ate anyway. He needed time to think, and keeping his mouth busy chewing was a good enough excuse to not have to talk. There were a dozen implications for every one revelation about the girl he and Kurapika had more or less stumbled upon in Yverris, and each implication stirred more questions in his head. He figured that it'd be unkind to put her through an interrogation, much as he wanted more info, so he ate slowly and pondered it all in his thoughts.

 _The sindyna summoned a 'tricky fox man', and the Coventry asked it for a weapon. The fox man took his price in flesh and gave the Coventry two people – a woman, and a girl. Not much of a weapon, really. Naeva seems pretty human to me._ Images flashed through his mind. A whirling pillar of white fire, immense bolts of lightning and exploding earth, the snarling woman he'd had to hold back after she'd been defeated by her half-alive prisoner; the silver gateways, the way he'd been restrained _twice_ now, those nonchalant displays of telekinesis.

His recollections provided too many tangents of curiosity. _Is that enough power to qualify a human being as a weapon? What kind of power is it? How does it work? How the hell did that woman even keep Naeva a captive at all, if she was capable of so much?_ That last, at least, had an answer he could grasp at... although he didn't understand it. The girl's first concern – her primary and perhaps only concern when they'd found her – had been getting someone to remove that silver necklace. Evidently it was something more than a common piece of jewelry. His stomach did an unpleasant flip. _It looked like a leash._ Grimly, Killua put down the last crust of his pizza.

His sister and Naeva were chatting avidly with one another, sitting together on the hospital bed – holding hands, even. Alluka had never really had another girl her own age to interact with. That was a guilt inducing realization. Maybe he should have let her try out a normal school instead of enrolling her in a homeschooling program. Gon chimed in to their conversation occasionally, while everyone else was apparently as content as he to just sit back and observe. Well, content was the wrong word. At least for Killua, it required constant effort to keep silent.

Kurapika appeared more perturbed than anyone – which was quite the accomplishment, considering Leorio's sickly sympathetic expression. He was leaning forward in his seat with his elbows braced on his knees, staring down at tensely laced fingers. It had been a rare sight earlier in the elevator, when the girl had clung to him for reassurance. Under ordinary circumstances, it might've been enormously amusing to witness Kurapika's thunderstruck reaction. But then he'd been so hesitant to offer any sort of comfort, and Naeva wasn't even _breathing,_ and Killua had to all but force Kurapika to respond. When his older friend had finally comforted her and she'd stopped trying to hold her breath, he'd just looked so... touched. The awkwardness of their entire exchange was oddly sweet.

There was a lapse in the girls' conversation and Naeva settled her attention on Leorio. She gave him another sweet look like she had when she'd conned him into replacing her doctor – and it'd definitely been a con. Killua had actually found himself impressed at how smooth she was about it. Naeva batted her lashes at Leorio and affected a tiny and timid smile. "Master Leorio, might it be possible in this place for me to have a bath?"

"It's just Leorio," he mumbled, then cleared his throat and nodded. "But yeah, of course. You have your own bathroom, and you can wheel the IV rack in with you." He gestured toward the room's second door.

Naeva exhaled a plainly relieved breath and hopped right off of the bed. The girl had a decently high pain tolerance. After receiving a demonstration from Leorio, she curled her right hand around the IV rack and pushed it around experimentally. Everything about her was so strange. When she opened the bathroom door, she stared inside for an extended moment before whirling on her heel to fix his sister with a semi-desperate look. "Alluka...?" Her attempted poise withered away and her lower lip trembled. "Might you be willing to assist me?"

Alluka bounded right to her feet. "Of course!"

Senritsu stood, as well. She retrieved her wide-brimmed hat and set it atop her head. "I can go and bring back some clothes that will actually fit you, Naeva."

The girl's lips pursed. She seemed as if she wanted to protest, but then glanced down at her currently ridiculous attire and changed her mind. Instead, she bowed. "I would be most grateful, Lady Senritsu."

Unlike everyone else who'd been given some ridiculous title by the girl, Senritsu only took it in stride. She smiled kindly. "It's no trouble at all."

And then it was only Leorio, Kurapika, Gon, and himself left in the luxurious hospital room. Judging by the amount of dirt in Naeva's mass of tangled hair, bathing was likely going to be an arduous process. She'd been wise to ask for Alluka's help.

Kurapika still hadn't looked up, and neither had he relaxed in the slightest. "I have no idea what to do now," he admitted in a low whisper. "How inappropriate would it be if I offered to let the girl stay with me?"

Killua was unused to Kurapika being so uncertain about anything. "Is that what you want to do?"

There was a beat of quiet before Kurapika answered in frustration. "I don't know. Maybe I do want to, but-" He let out a weighted breath and sat up at last, pushing back his hair from his face. "-who am I to think I can be responsible for a child? I routinely disregard my _own_ well-being."

Gon stepped forward and put a hand on Kurapika's shoulder. His expression was encouraging. "You aren't obligated to do anything at all. But if you want to, I think that you should." A trace of sadness dimmed his eyes. "She's lost everything and everyone she ever knew, and... well, you're the only one of us who can really relate to that." This was one of those times where only Gon was brave enough to have said outright what everyone in the room had been thinking.

Kurapika nodded once, quite gravely. "I could at least give her a place to take shelter for a time. She will have to learn about this world if she's going to survive in it, and I don't like the idea of rescuing her just to let her go off and live on the streets."

"You're way more responsible than you give yourself credit for." Leorio punctuated that with a tiny sniffle, eyes watery.

Killua braced his chin in one hand, slipping back into his own thoughts while the conversation continued. _No one seems to be considering how stubborn this girl has shown herself to be. She probably thinks that she_ could _live on the streets in a foreign world and manage just fine. I don't think she even knows that she would have died if she hadn't come back to the hospital. Or... it's possible that she just doesn't care. How depressing._ He blinked up when he realized Kurapika had spoken to him, trying to backtrack and remember anything of the words he hadn't been paying any mind to. At a loss, he smiled crookedly. "What was that?"

Kurapika wore a pensive frown. "Do you plan on leaving Swaldani anytime soon?"

Killua took a wary moment to mull that over before replying. _Is he going to request that I guide him through how to take care of a little girl? It isn't that hard, he can figure it out on his own._ Those thoughts were admittedly petulant. And, more importantly... _Alluka really likes Naeva. It'd be good for her to make her own friend._ He laced his fingers behind his head and put on a show of reluctance. "I guess I can stick around for a while." _I bear partial responsibility for releasing the otherworldly idiot girl, anyway._ _I'd be disappointed if she ran off again and got herself killed._ "Your biggest obstacle is probably going to be her pride, ya know."

Kurapika appeared to give that serious thought, eyebrows lowering. "I could understand her not wanting to live with some strange person she doesn't know, but do you really think she'd refuse simply because she doesn't want charity?"

"Yeah, I think she might." Killua tipped his chair back on two legs, balancing idly. "It'd be smart to ask her where she's expecting to go from here before you offer any suggestions. Keep in mind how easily she manipulated Leorio, too. She's pretty wily."

"Excuse me?" Leorio gawked at him. "I didn't get manipulated."

Killua smirked. "Oh, you did. She played your ego like a violin, old man."

"If you call me old man just _one_ more time-" Leorio started, but bit down on what was probably going to be an entertaining tirade when Kurapika lifted his hand in a gesture for silence.

"I believe you're right, Killua," Kurapika said. "If not for the precise reason you think you are. It would be wrong to make her feel like I'm trying to take any kind of control over her future, particularly given that she's been a captive for God only knows how long. She ran from the hospital in the first because she could not tolerate the notion of her free will being overridden again."

 _Yeah, there's that._ Killua found himself pondering that leash and collar set up again. It was an unpleasant visual.

* * *

Naeva sank down further down into the bathtub, letting the water slip over her chin and stop just short of her nose. _Hot water... a real bath in hot water._

Alluka fetched what appeared to be a brightly colored hair comb from a shelf. It was sealed up in some transparent material that she peeled off and threw into the waste bin. Then she aimed a kindly smile in Naeva's direction. "We should probably try de-tangling your hair, if we're going to have any hope of washing it."

It was an effort to avoid wincing at the notion. When first Naeva had gotten her hair wet, the water of the tub had turned a revolting, murky brown. Alluka had only politely helped her to drain the water before summoning fresh. Naeva sat up straighter and put on a confident front. "It might be easiest if we cut it off." She could not manage to make her voice anything but dismal as she said that. Unwittingly, her gaze was pulled to stare at the small pair of shears that Alluka had used to cut through the sleeve of her sweater so they could remove it without jostling the 'IV' needle affixed in her hand.

Alluka knelt beside the tub, her expression sympathetic. "Let's just try first and see how bad it is, okay? I'll bet we can get the tangles out."

Naeva's eyes misted. _She_ _is being very nice to me. I am quite certain I have never known anyone so nice before._ She was not able to assist much in the combing process, herself. With one hand near useless, she could really only hold her wet hair up while Alluka started on the ends with the little comb. The other girl worked with assiduous patience, and politely made no comment when Naeva cried on and off throughout. Her thoughts were in turmoil. _What am I going to do? Tomorrow, when I can leave this Light-blasted hospital, where will I go?_ She ruminated over that for a while, trying to strangle her impatience so that she could think with practicality. It was not easy to do so.

After some time, she looked back over to Alluka and saw that the combing was going well. That was stunning, and then immediately heartening. Her hair had always been long... which meant there was one tiny piece of her identity that she could still cling to.

"Thank you," Naeva said, and her eyes began spilling tears again.

"You're welcome." Alluka spoke cheerily. She did not appear put-upon at all. It was truly remarkable. In fact, Alluka went on to provide more companionable conversation while she finished up combing. Yet another kindness that prevented Naeva from falling down into the darker thoughts that lurked in the fringes of her mind. When all of the tangles in her hair had been dealt with there was some viscous, liquid soap to get it clean and another to soften it – very peculiar. Alluka helped with all of it.

And then finally, for the first time in longer than she cared to know for certain, Naeva felt clean. Alluka ventured out of the bathroom and was back in a handful of seconds with folded clothing in her arms. She set that bundle down to help her out of the tub. When Naeva dried herself off with a weave of Air and Fire, Alluka's eyes widened and she giggled. _This world has no channelers at all._ That was fairly evident from the reactions she had received thus far, yet it was no less a mind-boggling concept. Redressing in the new clothes – and they did fit much better – required more aid. She felt rather pitiful about that. Worse, she felt fatigue in her every feeble muscle from just the small amount of activity she had put her body through earlier. _I am so bony now, so weak._ She could not stomach the thought of turning her head to look into the mirror on the wall, so she did not.

Alluka had two ribbon bows twined in her hair, but she reached up to tug one loose. "I could tie your hair back, if you want." She smiled in an encouraging way. "I think it'd look pretty."

Again, Naeva was unsure how to take all of this niceness. None of these people had any reason to care about her. Why were they acting as if they did? She started scrutinizing Alluka for visible sign of some ulterior motive and then chastised herself when she noticed she was doing so. "Thank you, Alluka."

"It's nothing, really." Alluka pulled her hair back and tied it at the nape of her neck with the wide black ribbon. She then fretted her hands together, endearingly shy. "Do you feel any better now?"

"I feel tremendously better," Naeva said. _About my hygiene, anyhow. The rest of me is still a right mess._ Naeva leaned on that tall steel rack again to follow Alluka out from the bathroom. She was careful not to look at anyone directly as she returned to her high cot, self-conscious about what was surely a stark contrast between her current visage and her previously filthy state.

Once she had settled again and crossed her dangling legs at the ankle, Kurapika's voice addressed her. "Naeva?"

She really had to force herself to look up and meet his eyes. "Yes?"

Everyone in the room was focusing on her now, but Naeva kept her gaze evenly on Kurapika and ignored the temptation to fidget. He appeared contemplative. "What do you plan on doing after you're released from the hospital?"

Naeva considered how best to answer. She did not want this man fretting over her. He had done more than enough for her sake already. Regardless, she did owe him at least a solemn response to his inquiry. She dredged up what flimsy plans she had forged during the long bath. "I suppose that I shall return to where you found me."

For an instant, Kurapika was taken aback. Yet he did not muster a reply before Killua did. Killua spoke up at once, appalled. " _Why?_ "

Naeva spared him just a brief glance. "Some of the soldiers were particularly averse to the Compulsion used against them. I could not stop it from happening, but I can make an attempt to Heal their minds." _I doubt that I will succeed, but I ought make the attempt._

"Compulsion." Kurapika echoed the word faintly. "That would be what the woman did to take control of the Coventry soldiers?"

Naeva's expression may have darkened. "That woman's name is Moghedien. She is _Forsaken._ " She blinked a few times, wrenched herself free of that troubled tangent of thought to remember that he had asked her a question. "Compulsion is a forbidden weave, for it has the power to subjugate the will of an individual. Yet it is not infallible, and Moghedien was not delicate in her use. Those among the soldiers whose character especially contradicted the commands they were given... their minds were more broken as a result. There were not many, but there were a few."

A small frown fell over Kurapika's expression. "Could you actually restore their sanity?"

She matched his frown. A lie would suffice, but she felt unwilling to be dishonest with him. "Healing a mind is greatly more difficult than Healing a physical injury. I likely cannot, but I owe it to those few to try." Her vision blurred somewhat. Naeva averted her eyes to stare at the wall so that she might stand a chance at holding the tears back. "One man bundled me in his coat. He tried to help, but I could not-" She bit the inside of her cheek to keep more of those involuntary words from tumbling forth.

"We met him." That utterance was from Killua. When she looked to him, there was a distinct gentleness in his violet gaze. "Evritt Malimar. He gave us what information about... Moghedien that he could."

Relief trembled through Naeva. "So he did escape. I am glad." She closed her eyes a few moments to work on steadying her emotions.

"Anyway, you can't just go back to the Coventry Palace." Killua spoke again, but harder this time. "The majority of them weren't of good character to begin with. I'd imagine they'll try to apprehend you if they see you again."

"I could stave them off." Naeva shrugged her sore shoulders. _If I wished to. Beyond trying to Heal those I can, why should I care what happens next?_ Her mood had turned dreary again. It was more of an endeavor this time to pull herself back up. She had not fully managed when Kurapika asked another question.

"Let's suppose that you find the men you want to Heal and all goes well. What would you do after that?" Kurapika's dark eyes were intent on her. It made her want to shiver, that he may as well have been reading her thoughts.

She decided again to give the honest answer. "I do not know."

Perhaps some dreariness had reflected in her voice, for Killua's eyes narrowed. "You don't know, or you don't care?"

Naeva bristled at his tone. "Mayhap I do not care. There is no call for you or anyone else to care on my behalf."

"I do," Kurapika said quietly.

Irrationally, her temper was riled further. "Then stop!" _It was my fault._ "No one should presume that helping me is the 'right thing' to do." _All of it was my fault._ "I am dangerous, do you understand? I have always been dangerous." _Everything traces back to me._ "Because of me- Light, thousands of people may be dead because of me." _My parents..._ _Papa knew, at the last, that I was the one responsible._ Her vision blurred again and did not recover so quickly. The tears stung with bitterness. She wanted to be angry, not sad.

"You can't be serious." Killua's voice was infuriatingly thick with skepticism. He even snorted. "You expect me to believe that you _,_ who decided to spare the life of the woman who held you prisoner, killed thousands of people?"

"They would be alive if not for me," Naeva countered, swiping her hand beneath her eyes when several renegade tears slipped loose. "It makes scant difference whether or not the murdering was done by my hand." She shook her head, clawing for her poise back. "I do not wish to talk about it anymore." _I cannot accept any of this! I have nothing of worth_ _to offer these people. I should have kept running. I should never have stopped! Light_ _burn_ _me for-_

A pale hand wrapped around hers snugly and Naeva looked up to meet Alluka's concerned blue eyes. "People have died because of me, too. I don't even _know_ how many." She barely whispered that. "I'm dangerous, but Onii-chan never once stopped caring about me."

For too long, Naeva could only stare at the other girl. Her brow furrowed with confusion. She chose to ask the least invasive of the questions that occurred to her. "Who is Onii-chan?"

"My big brother." Alluka beamed over at Killua, whose gaze on his sister was tender. He mustered a tenuous smile in return for her, and then Alluka's attention swiveled back to Naeva. Her gaze was bright with determination. "I'd really like to care about you. I want-" She paused to swallow hard, appearing a whit nervous, but she went on no less adamantly. "-I want us to be friends, Naeva."

That wrought a very undignified gulp from her. Naeva had to drop her gaze from Alluka's, staring down at her dangling feet. _What am I supposed to do?_ Hearing that had started a warmth in her heart that she had never really felt before. "I do not know if I would make for a good friend."

"Neither do I." Alluka actually laughed, the sound tinged with bashfulness. "But I really do want to try."

The hand around hers squeezed, a reassuring gesture. Naeva licked her lips unconsciously. She was unsure if she could summon any kind of answer. _If I could have a friend like Alluka... Light, what can I say to her?_ "I would like that, Alluka, but I cannot-"

There was the noise of a throat clearing. Naeva closed her mouth and corrected her posture instinctively. She looked over at Kurapika. His focus honed on her, earnest. "I can help you locate the disavowed members of the Holy Coventry. Going back there would be an unnecessary risk. Will you permit me to help you?"

Naeva struggled with that offer, conflicted. Her pride – which she had never enjoyed swallowing down – wanted her to refuse and to leave these people before they did anything else for her that she could never repay. Perhaps she should jump out the window again. The notion was tempting, and yet... Kurapika, with his steady gaze and assured voice, had rapidly become a strange source of comfort to her. Naeva felt her weak conviction crumble to nothing. She nodded her head. "If you can help me to find those soldiers, I would be most appreciative." _As I appreciate everything he has done._ Once more her vision swam with tears, but she was _not_ going to start crying again! "Thank you, Lord Kurapika."

His expression tightened an infinitesimal amount before he returned her nod. Kurapika opened his mouth, but was cut off by a shrill and alarming noise. Naeva jumped, eyes going straight to those frightful machines in the room. Alluka's hand squeezed around hers again. The noise was only brief.

"Damn it," Leorio grumbled. He tugged a tiny black box from his belt and peered down at it. "I've gotta go." He released a hefty sigh. When he looked over at her, his gaze was somber. "You'll see me again in six hours for more antibiotics and a check-up. Don't go running off, okay? I want you to give me your word that you'll be here when I come back."

"I shall not run off." Naeva inclined her head. "Thank you as well, Ma-" Her tongue fumbled. It was exasperating. Why did no one here seem comfortable with even the simple titles afforded to commonfolk? She found it awkwardly intimate to be referring to them all by their first names. "-Leorio. Thank you for being my healer."

Leorio's gaze, behind those panes of reflective glass, softened. "You're welcome, kiddo." Kiddo? That sounded an endearment. The tall man exchanged goodbyes with the others and then strode hastily from the room.

Kurapika spoke as soon as the door closed behind him. "You should have some place to find shelter and safety, and I'd like you to know that you're welcome to stay with me."

At once, Naeva shook her head. _I just do not understand! Why should he care?_ "I could not possibly do that." Her refusal, which should have been firm, came out as the flimsiest of whispers.

His eyes flickered for an instant with some emotion that was there and gone too quickly for her to try deciphering it. "Why not?"

Naeva willed her voice to be stronger. "I am quite capable, Lord Kurapika. I shall manage on my own without needing to impose on anyone."

Kurapika's brows wilted, but his tone remained unerringly patient. "How do you expect you can manage?"

"I can find some way." With the singular exception of Kurapika's patience, everyone now was staring at her as if she were being either inane or petulant. Light, she was only trying to be honorable. Naeva scrounged for a notion to convince them that she was not an imbecile, seizing on the first that struck her. "I could perform like a traveling Gleeman, perhaps. People in this world must pay for entertainment, yes? I could perform channeling tricks in taverns, or..." She stopped talking when it became obvious that nobody was accepting her idea.

"You're too young to even be allowed in a tavern." Killua actually scoffed at her. "You don't know what's normal or what isn't in this world. You sure as hell don't have a clue about what's dangerous, or what's going to get you killed."

Kurapika spoke again before she could argue that point. "It would not be an imposition to have you staying with me. I have plenty of space and a rather egregious amount of wealth."

Naeva felt irritation twitch her features into a pout. "That you are a nobleman does not forgive my becoming a burden on you. I simply cannot allow it." _Mama and Papa would- no, they would nothing. They are dead and gone and even their graves far beyond me. I will never see my uncles or my tutors again. Not ever again. My brother... Light, he must hate me to my core. I could have saved everyone, saved Seven Towers, if only I had succeeded in making the Shadow kill me._ The thought hurt, stabbed into her buried grief and threatened to slice it all loose. She pushed her tumultuous thoughts aside and summoned the mental image of a flame. Into that flame she fed her confusion, anxiety, pain, grief, and every thought that floated by. Naeva fed the Flame until it grew to consume everything and in its wake was left a perfectly empty void – _the_ Void. It was a trick that her father had taught her to aid sword practice. "I shall manage." She heard herself reiterate.

"Maybe you would." Kurapika's voice was laced with sorrow. "Or maybe you would lose your life, living alone on the streets somewhere."

With the clarity granted by the Void, with an utter lack of emotion, Naeva considered that. "I suppose that I might. The risk is mine own to accept."

Killua clicked his tongue, every line of his posture visibly frustrated. "You're an _idiot!_ "

"Settle down, Killua," Gon chastised. He had been quiet for some time, merely looking to be caught up in his own thoughts. Now he approached the high hospital bed to hop up beside her. That reproving expression on his face did not mild as he switched it from Killua to herself. "You can't be Alluka's friend if you go off and die. I know she'd be crushed. We all would – maybe especially Killua and Kurapika. They did save you, right? It'd be pretty sad if you let that be for nothing."

That argument tore through her and tried to shatter the Void. _I had not thought about it like..._ She glanced back at Killua, whose aggravation was still plain – at least until their eyes met. Then he slouched further into his chair and looked away. The Void trembled. Naeva turned to Kurapika again. His eyes were distant, a trace forlorn. He straightened when she looked at him and offered a small smile. The Void broke. Naeva lost her strict and necessary self-control, bowed her head, and wept. It was humiliating.

And then there was music. A flute played, its melody high and delicate. Naeva had heard some very sweet music in her life, yet this may have been the most moving. She felt it flow through her, steadying her unstable emotions and smoothing her frayed nerves. Almost instantly, the loathsome tears abated. The hospital room was gone and that was not alarming at all – nothing could be alarming with such peaceful music playing. In the place of the hospital room was a vast, open meadow. Flowers bloomed and the sun shone down warmth from above. The scent of the air was divine. Naeva only sat in the soft grass, staring around in wonderment. When the music played to a close, she blinked and was right back on the cot where she had been before the song. Everyone around her appeared as calmed as she now felt.

Senritsu lowered a silver flute from her lips. Her eyes radiated benevolence just as her music had. "Are you okay, Naeva?"

She answered, wonderingly, with the truth. "I am. That was a lovely song, Lady Senritsu."

The small woman smiled so that her eyes crinkled at the corners. She made for a quite adorable sight. "I thought we could all use a moment to clear our thoughts."

The look that Kurapika favored Senritsu with was nothing if not affectionate. He hung his head for a handful of seconds, then lifted it to smile at Naeva once more. "I'm offering because I genuinely want to help you. I would be happy to help you."

Naeva merely regarded him awhile, finding nothing but sincerity in his solemn gaze. At last, she slid off of the cot. She had to maneuver the cumbersome steel rack over with her to approach the chair where he was seated and kneel. "By the Light and my hope of salvation and rebirth, I, Naeva Mandragoran, do forswear all oaths to pledge my sword to you, Lord Kurapika. I shall serve as best I can." When she rose to her feet again, Kurapika's eyes were rounded.

"You don't have to swear any kind of oath to me," he murmured.

Naeva smiled – a bit thinly, perhaps, but it was what it was. "I do."

"You don't even have a sword," Killua pointed out.

Naeva turned about face to serve him an amused look. Then she took her hand from the IV rack and wove a quick flow of solidified Air – tinted red, so that he might see the sword she had crafted. Naeva gave it a neat, practiced twirl with her wrist before releasing the weave. In recollection of his earlier remark that she was an idiot, she let some real mirth seep into her smile. "You ought close your jaw, woolhead."

Killua did, and with a sharp click. His eyes narrowed with veiled suspicion. "Are you making fun of my hair?"

Her gaze lifted to said hair – the silver locks _were_ quite fluffy, like wool. Giggles bubbled their way up from her throat, shook her until her balance might have wavered if she had not been gripping onto that steel rack. "I was not, but- burn me, that does make it twice as funny!"


	5. What Makes a Home

It took an entire day before the white haired doctor would sign off on Naeva's freedom. She still did not understand why it had to be his decision. Leorio was the one who had performed the majority of her caretaking. Nevertheless, she was grateful.

Naeva wove a Gateway and jumped straight through, eager to be gone from the awful hospital room and just as eager to prevent anyone suggesting that she take the 'elevator' down. She was then able to observe the exchange between Kurapika, who followed quite confidently, and Senritsu, who might not have jumped at all without Kurapika's reassurance. Sometimes it amazed her how dense grown adults could be. The two of them looked to be absolutely pining for one another, and each unaware that the other held mutual feelings. That had to take an intentional level of ignorance.

"The car is this way." Kurapika's voice surfaced her from her musings and Naeva settled into step behind he and Senritsu. Then his words hit her and she halted.

"The car?" Naeva dared a glance at the area just beyond the gray strip of ground upon which they walked – there, dozens of metallic monstrosities raced about, propelled by nothing she could see. Alluka had named them 'car'.

Kurapika seemed surprised by her reaction. "If it makes you feel any better, you've already been in my car once before."

It most definitely did _not_ make her feel better. Naeva had the uncomfortable sensation of the blood draining from her face. She put her focus on keeping her breathing steady and calm, and then took up the Void.

They continued on. Naeva followed, empty of any conscious thought, and let her surroundings pass without notice. The expedition was a short one, and soon she was seated on leather upholstery while Senritsu explained the mechanism of the fabric strap – 'seat belt' – to her. Dimly, she registered that as a horrifying concept; cars were acknowledged as unsafe enough that flimsy sashes were required to prevent passengers from being flung out onto the ground. Naeva clicked the buckle into place with what may have been undue force and then leaned her head back against the black leather.

The car made a low noise as though it were coming alive and leaped forward with such velocity that she nearly lost her hold on the Void. Kurapika manipulated the wheel in front of him and then they were speeding along beside the other cars, darting between them and moving steadily ever forward. The tall, rectangle buildings sped by outside the window until they started to grow smaller and then disappeared and she could see shadowy forest. Naeva had a while to appreciate the change of scenery before the car swerved to go a new direction on ground that showed bare earth instead of smooth black. There were no other cars in sight now.

It was quite dark, so Naeva stared out the frontmost window and deliberately did not think of the light that shot forward as coming from a set of giant mechanical eyes. Kurapika slowed their speed and another building came into view. This one looked more familiar to her than the massive, uninspired structures she had seen in the city. In her world, she would have no trouble naming it a nobleman's mansion. The structure was three levels tall and crafted predominantly from darkly painted wood. The roof was steeply sloped, tiled black. As she watched the mansion, a previously unnoticed door began to slide open by itself. Kurapika aimed the car for the room that was revealed. Naeva reminded herself that she would have to become accustomed to seeing things move on their own without any channeling being involved.

The car pulled into that square room and stopped both its motion and its noise. Naeva relinquished her hold on the Void and let her emotions return to her. _Ha, I did it! At least I could see where we were going. Why did that blasted elevator have no windows?_ Her hand fumbled at the door by her side, trying to find the way to open it up. Finally she seized on what seemed to be the correct lever. A brief tug produced a small click and then she was able to push the door enough to wriggle out. Well, she should have been able to wriggle out. Her movement was stopped short when the fabric strap at her waist yanked her right back into the seat. She had forgotten about that.

Then Kurapika was there, and he depressed a small button to release the belt. Naeva was freed, and clambered out from the car in a hurry. When her haste caused her to stumble, a light grip on her arm held her stable and she leaned against it to regain her balance. Kurapika's hand was gentle, his eyes concerned. "Was the car ride terrible? You were silent the entire time."

Naeva summoned confidence and instilled as much of it into her voice as she could. "It was not so bad as the elevator."

Kurapika nodded, relieved. "Good." He then flashed a small, pleading smile at Senritsu. "If you don't mind, perhaps you could stay the night? There are a few things I can think of that Naeva would likely prefer a woman explain to her over me."

Naeva felt her cheeks color. Yes, there were a few things she could think of as well. In the hospital, Alluka had handled most of the work of drawing a bath for her. While she had been astonished at the ability to summon hot water mechanically, she was doubtful that she could replicate the feat on her own. There had been a disturbing amount of lever fiddling and at one point water had rained from near to the ceiling.

Senritsu returned Kurapika's smile. The expression was sweet, if a whit strained. "I don't mind staying."

"Thank you, Senritsu." Kurapika's appreciative look lingered on the woman a moment longer. Then he was all poise and he ushered them through a matte black door and into the house proper.

The interior was elegantly beautiful, but laid bare without anything on the walls or surfaces to hint at the person who lived within. Naeva wondered at that while Kurapika gave her a brief and to-the-point explanation of each room they passed through. When he used a word she did not understand, he would elaborate more simply. _This is an impressive world_.

The final door he opened revealed a spacious bedroom. It was dark as they walked within, but a movement of Kurapika's hand and a click summoned light to fill the room. "If there's anything you want for the room to make it feel more like your own, just let me know."

Naeva struggled with herself. There was an impending sense of weight coming down upon her. Shadows in her mind were shifting and clearing to expose pieces of herself that had been long buried. There was hot pain like a coal burning away in her gut. In that instant, she felt truly safe. She considered it profoundly unfair that this moment of welcome peace should dredge up within her all of the waiting grief that now insisted on being known. _I can keep myself together. I will!_ _How much of myself is left?_

Kurapika spoke again, providing the unfortunate awareness that Naeva had whispered at least that last aloud. "It's okay if you don't know the answer to that question right away." He spoke with the sad assurance that he knew what it was to ask such a question of himself. "If you feel lost and alone, that's okay, too. I can't-" He paused to take a breath before continuing. "-I won't make you any hollow promises. In my own experience, that feeling of alienation has gotten better. I hope that it will for you. For as long as you decide you want to tolerate my company, I'll be around if you want to talk." He smiled then, looking like a man made to tread water that was far from any familiar shore.

Naeva almost threw herself to shelter against him, but if she gave in at all she would surely crumble. She held herself as motionless as she could and fought to keep her mind from spiraling. When she found her voice, it was a breathy whisper. "My parents are dead." _What? Why am I...?_ She had only meant to thank him. "Murdered, because they tried to rescue me." _Stop talking!_ "Papa, he- after-" _Papa!_ She shook her head as if that could somehow clear her mind of the memory. After a shaky moment during which she only stood there and battled a barrage of guilt, she tried again for the words she had intended. "I shall be fine. Thank you, Lord Kurapika."

To her relief, Kurapika did not reply to her accidental babbling. "You don't have to be so formal. You can simply call me Kurapika."

Naeva allowed herself the smile that was tugging at the corners of her lips. "That seems an ill-befitting way to address the one who gave me my own life back."

Kurapika's expression softened further. The room lapsed to silence.

"If you two are anywhere near as tired as I am after today, I think that we all could use some rest." Senritsu's pleasantly melodic voice broke the heavy moment and brightened the gloom. "Kurapika-san, I can help Naeva get ready for bed."

Kurapika nodded, eyes distant with faraway thoughts. Then he sharpened his focus and it pierced Naeva as if he could easily see everything she hid within – as if it were obvious to him. He spoke to her as one might a frightened child. _Is that what I am?_ "Tomorrow we can talk more if you want to. About anything, or about nothing. I can at least make sure we get some necessities taken care of, and... I hope you'll be comfortable here." He turned to go.

An irrational thought cracked the surface of her poise and stirred up fluttering dread within her heart. Her equilibrium shook, or perhaps she did. _Please do not go! I cannot be alone!_ Naeva realized her hand had lashed out to snatch at the fabric of his sleeve. Hastily, she dropped it back to her side.

Senritsu was right there suddenly, and meeting her eyes made Naeva feel like the world was growing steady again. "You'll feel better in the morning. I know it." The words were salve over her abraded emotions. "And I'll stay with you until you fall asleep, I promise."

"Goodnight then Senritsu, Naeva." Kurapika inclined his head to them before exiting the room. _He really is very Lordly.  
_

Senritsu took her about the room and her soothing voice elaborated while Naeva did her best to mutely absorb everything. Apparently she had her own bathroom connected to the bedroom. Senritsu went thoroughly over how to use everything within, and it all seemed simple enough. She turned a lever – the 'faucet' – over the ceramic tub and then it was filling up with what Naeva knew would be blissfully hot, clean water; a luxury, nay, a miracle! Senritsu pulled off one of her gloves to test the temperature of the water and make adjustments. As she did so, her sleeve pulled back and part of her arm was bared.

The skin there was blackened and withered as though a terrible disease had ravaged her body. Naeva bit the inside of her cheek to avoid a startled gasp. She stepped forward just as Senritsu was reaching to reclaim her glove, and then hesitated. "I mentioned that I can Heal before, but only briefly." She held still and tried to look as inoffensive as possible.

With a frown, Senritsu slid her glove onto her hand again. "I've been cursed, but I'm not sick. It's alright." Her words were quick, practiced.

Naeva drew on Saidar. It felt glorious to channel by her own volition again. "May I touch you just for a moment?" She paused, deliberating on how best to explain. "What I would like to do is called a Delving. It is a way to analyze a body's physical well-being." She kept her volume low, her voice as earnest about this as she felt. After staring at her in plain dubiety for a few seconds more, Senritsu nodded her head.

Naeva touched one hand to Senritsu's cheek, then sent the unique Delving weave her mother had taught her in a quick pulse throughout the woman's body. All five aspects of the One Power were laced into an intricate net that expanded to take in everything at once. The pulse made her a blueprint which she read instinctively in her mind. She could feel Senritsu – the core of her – pure and whole and quite unharmed. Sitting atop her skin as though it had been stitched on was a stagnant fog of what her mind struggled to come to terms with. It was a darkness, writhing weakly with what felt like age and pushing downward on Senritsu as if it wished to swallow her up and had been prevented from finding real success.

Naeva lowered her hand again. _Light!_ _What was that? What happened to her?_ She clung to her composure and offered what she hoped was a confident smile. "I do believe that I can Heal you, if you would like me to try."

Senritsu blanched and even more doubt filled her features. "I'm not sure I understand what you mean. I'm not- I'm _not_ injured." Her voice was so breathy as to be nearly inaudible, but Naeva's senses were heightened to acuteness by her contact with Saidar.

Naeva chose her next words with care. "I can feel that something has been done to you. I cannot tell what, but that does not matter anyhow. What I am certain of is that I could remove what is damaging your body, if you wish it to be done." She took a step backward then, knowing it would be unwise to presume anything. Healing could be an extremely personal matter.

"What would happen?" Senritsu asked. "If you Heal me, will I-" She stopped herself and then forced the rest of the question in a rush. "-would I be returned to the way that I used to be?"

Naeva shook her head. "I could not promise you that. What I felt during the Delving was... akin to a second skin. I have no doubts I can remove it. It _ought_ be removed, I believe, but I can give you no guarantee of the result."

The tub was close to full. Senritsu hurried to turn off the faucet and used the moment to gather herself. "I'll think about it." She offered a thin, but very sweet smile. "For now, let's just finish getting you ready for bed."

Naeva let it go without another word. Senritsu helped her with the bath and Naeva felt herself fully relax. Her muscles were sore, still recovering from the meager amount of running about she had done yesterday. The hot water helped. Captivity had taken its toll on her physically just as it had mentally. She felt withered away. It was a bitter realization; once, she had been strong.

Senritsu brought her a glass of water to drink when climbing out of the warm bath made her head spin. Naeva used the One Power to evaporate the water from her skin and hair in an instant. Senritsu gasped, then shook her head bemusedly and set the towel she had been holding aside.

Getting dressed again required assistance, but Senritsu's touch was light and kind-mannered. The clothes were fresh, clean, and even more odd than what she had been wearing before – at least in her own estimation. The shirt was long sleeved and stiff collared; stark white against her skin. The buttons might have reached her chin had it not been meant for someone with wider shoulders and neck. It was likely Kurapika's, she realized. That might also have been true of the strange... pantaloons? They draped below her knobby knees. The waistband was marvelously stretchy, so at least they stayed somewhat securely atop her hips.

"Thank you," she gushed in gratefulness. All things considered, she felt shockingly comfortable. With Saidar filling her, that joyous reality of her freedom, all of her troubling thoughts remained as distant as she wanted them to.

"You're very welcome, Naeva." Senritsu smiled, but the expression faded and then she was shifting her weight from one foot to the other. "I decided that- please, if it would not trouble you at all to try," she hesitated, her voice breaking delicately, "could you really Heal me?"

Naeva drew in more of the One Power and offered a solemn nod. She climbed onto the bed and settled herself with the blanket over her lap. Senritsu sat beside her and Naeva focused on her levelly. "It is a complex Healing, and when it is finished I may be depleted of energy. You must not be alarmed if I lose consciousness. It is entirely normal for channeling to be exhaustive." When it seemed Senritsu might want to argue that point or change her mind, Naeva raised a hand and continued on. "I shall sleep soundly tonight, but first I should very much like to perform this Healing."

Senritsu frowned, but she raised no protest and did not shirk away.

Naeva placed both hands upon her face. "You may feel cold," she said, and then began to weave without delay. Her eyes slid shut and she felt her way through instinctively, using Spirit and Fire to pull the darkness up in every place which it had laced itself into the woman's body. There was a sensation of unraveling, a gradual building of release. Naeva worked quickly and steadily until that strange second skin was floating almost loose, attached only by a single wisp of taint. She eradicated it. The sick, clinging darkness dissolved in one pulse of Power and the Healing was complete. Naeva felt the once familiar warmth settle in on her that bespoke a task well done.

There was no point in trying to open her heavy eyelids. She was barely conscious of Senritsu's faraway voice as she let Saidar leave her in a shuddering rush. Her body fell back to the bed and into a deep and welcome slumber.

* * *

Kurapika watched the stove top, where his steel kettle sat over orange and blue flame. Respite was what he needed, but his body was tense with a peculiar mixture of both exhaustion and exhilaration. After tossing and turning in his sheets for several hours, chamomile tea was the surest remedy he could think of. The fire of the burner and moonlight through the windows provided the only illumination in the dark kitchen. He knew Senritsu would be awakened by the slightest noise, but he still intended to be as polite and unobtrusive about it as possible.

"Kurapika-san?" Senritsu's voice, so soon after his thoughts had turned to her of their own volition, surprised him. She was standing outside the doorway to the kitchen, little more than one eye peeking into the room and even that obscured in the darkness.

Kurapika reached toward the light switch, but he cut the motion short when she gave an alarmed squeak. That was unlike her. "Is everything okay?" he asked, suddenly worried. She was not even peeking into the kitchen any longer.

"Everything is fine!" Senritsu assured him at once. "I- I was only going to ask if you would please make me a cup of tea as well?" Her voice rose higher and higher with every word, so uncharacteristically nervous.

Kurapika tried to make his own voice something like soothing. "There's enough water in the kettle already. Would you care to sit outside with me?" He was aware of the noise of the water nearing its boiling point and hastened to turn off the burner and lift the kettle before it could whistle. "It's warm out tonight... I thought fresh air might be nice." _And it will be far nicer with her company._ He poured the water from the kettle into the waiting teapot and grabbed an extra cup. When he looked back toward the doorway, Senritsu was still keeping herself well out of sight. Why?

"That does sound nice," Senristu said lightly, a lyrical caress that made him smile. Funny, how easily that happened around her. She hurried to add, "You can go on out and I'll just follow you." That request was as unusual as the rest of her behavior, but he didn't see the point of arguing. When he made to reach for the tray holding the teapot, Senritsu quickly proclaimed that she would bring that, as well. Kurapika was thoroughly bewildered, but decided he may as well play along. _There must be something making her so anxious._

Opening the doors to the patio greeted him with a night even more pleasant than he had been expecting. It was indeed warm, with a feather light breeze to stir the air and carry the smell of spring. Kurapika sat at the table outside and waited, gazing appreciatively up at the starry night sky. This was the third house he had purchased, and he presently owned a total of five. It had been important to him that he find a house outside of the city if he was going to be staying for any amount of time. He appreciated being able to see the stars. The noise of the patio door closing drew his glance, and after what must have been at least a minute he realized he had done nothing but stare.

A woman he had never laid eyes on before had walked out of his house wearing Senritsu's clothes and carrying the tray with his teapot. Said attire draped loosely, both too large and cut too short for her willowy frame. She had hair the color of lilac blossoms that fell in ringlet curls to brush the tops of her shoulders. Her eyes were a dark, deep green, piercingly intense in the moonlight. He had not yet been able to look away from her or even to muster any words when the woman spoke with Senritsu's voice. "It really is- it's me, Kurapika-san. It's Senritsu." That voice, even as it wavered, was unmistakable. The way she said his name was unmistakable.

"Of course it's you." Kurapika heard himself whisper. She stiffened in surprise and lowered her face, the tips of her ears turning pink. Kurapika cleared his throat and put more assurance into his tone. "I can think of a few questions, but I do know it's you, Senritsu." That felt decidedly strange, to say her name while looking at such a different form. The eeriness dissipated when she looked up again and he noted with relief that he still felt the same when he looked into her eyes. _Senritsu..._

She approached very slowly, gracefully, and set the tray down on the table before sidling into the empty chair beside him and pouring two cups of tea. He watched her motions, mesmerized. Her ivory colored skin appeared to be very soft and the observation was jarring. Senritsu smiled up at him as she set the teapot down. "This is the real me... what I looked like before I heard the Sonata." She held one of the cups out to him and he managed to accept it and take a careful drink without his hands shaking. "Naeva healed me."

Kurapika nearly choked. He set his cup down and took some time to gather himself. _I should not be so surprised. Of course it would have something to do with Naeva._ "How?"

Senritsu licked her lips – another action that seemed to draw his attention more than it should have – and spoke with amazement thick in her voice. "I don't really know. She fell asleep afterward so I couldn't ask any questions. I was in shock, for a while." Her eyes were glistening. One of his hands moved on impulse and laid upon her cheek, his thumb brushing aside a shimmering tear as it trekked down her face. At that point he also became aware that he had leaned in very close. "Kurapika-san." She spoke and he could almost feel her breath upon his skin.

"Yes, Senritsu?" His voice sounded odd in his own ears. Since when did he speak so huskily?

Senritsu gulped, and for an instant he could see the racing flutter of her pulse in her throat. "Do you think I'm beautiful?"

Kurapika blinked for the unexpectedness of the question, as well as for the heart wrenching vulnerability with which she had asked it. He sat back a little to regard her. "Is that a very big deal?" He kept his own voice low, tempered with solemnity. "I think you are admirable, kind, and generous. You make me smile even when I feel at my worst and I know that I can be a better person when you are nearby." Another tear slipped free from her other eye and he leaned in with the brazen impulse to brush it from her cheek with his lips. "Before I answer your question," he said softly, less than an inch from her ear before he made himself pull away again, "I want to be sure you know that all of those things are more important than whether or not you are beautiful." _I should have said all of this yesterday._

Senritsu nodded once, those clear green eyes swirling with emotion that was steadily drawing him into unexplored territory. Kurapika smiled, and when she responded in kind his already pounding pulse quickened.

"That said, and for whatever you think it's worth..." His gaze faltered, flickering between her eyes and her pale, soft lips. "I have never seen anyone more beautiful, and I can't imagine I ever will."

Senritsu's lips parted with a soft, surprised noise and boldness pushed him forward once more until he was kissing her. Her arms wrapped around the back of his neck and Kurapika held her against himself, moved by rushing blood and heightened emotion. One of his hands settled on the small of her back and the other tangled in a handful of her curly hair. After a heated exchange that left his head spinning dangerously, he made himself slow down and gentled the contact of his lips on hers until they were barely touching.

When he sat back, her eyes focused on his as they individually recaptured their breath. "Kurapika-sa-"

He silenced her with a light shake of his head. "If I'm going to be kissing you, you'll have to drop the honorific."

Senritsu smiled. "Then... just Kurapika." She laughed – bright and melodic – and leaned nearer to him again. "If I keep calling you Kurapika, you'll keep kissing me?" He was quite sure that he'd never been asked a sweeter question.

By the time they were both ready to go back inside, the tea was cold.

* * *

When Naeva woke up, she felt a poignant surge of fright at her unfamiliar surroundings. For just that brief moment, she was Moghedien's pet again – trapped, and alone. Instinctively, she reached out to the True Source and relief flooded her as completely as Saidar did. _I was rescued. After everything..._ She allowed herself an indulgent snuggle with the soft bedding. _When did I last sleep in a_ _real_ _bed? It is such an extravagance! I swear that I shall never take anything for granted ever again!_

With her senses enhanced by the One Power, Naeva could hear birds chirping outside the window and feel every plush fiber of the blanket against her cheek. _Have I the right to feel safe and comfortable in this place?_ She buried her face in the blanket and willed away the emotions that were stirred up by that thought. After what seemed a long struggle with that, she had gathered herself together enough to get up out of the bed. Her first destination was the bathroom, where she felt ludicrously proud that she was able to accomplish her morning hygiene all by herself. After washing her face with cold water from the sink – hopefully skill at adjusting the knobs would come with more practice – Naeva looked into a mirror for the first time since before her capture.

Her gaze fell first to the scar around her neck. Too noticeable, that; the reminder of the _a'dam_ , seared into her flesh. The next observation that struck her – shocking enough that she was tempted to flee from her own reflection – was that she looked very much like her mother. People had remarked on that oft enough in the past, but she had always been dismissive of the claim. Now, she stared at the image of herself and everything staring back at her save the color of her eyes belonged to her mother. _This is what I have left of her. An angreal, and my reflection._

Naeva turned her back on the mirror and refused to have any more stirring thoughts about her parents. The pain there was raw. There had been too many other, more urgent hurts occupying her attention since to properly deal with that loss. She did not want to deal with it now. Telling herself it was politeness and not procrastination, Naeva made up the bed before summoning the courage to venture out from the bedroom.

The scent of cooking food sent a reverberation of longing through her hollow stomach. Naeva would not have thought it possible to feel hungrier than she had after waking up in the hospital, but the savage need that filled her now was on a different level. Her ears caught light sounds of movement and she followed the noise. She could recall the interior of the house from her tour yesterday in a vague sort of way. At the bottom of the staircase, she turned left to walk through an open doorway into the kitchen.

Therein, Kurapika was placing a steaming skillet – the source of that divine aroma – onto a granite slab in the center of the low, square table. Senritsu, who had been carrying a stack of flatware, was the first to look over at her. Naeva knew it was Senritsu without doubt, despite the dramatic difference in the woman's appearance. The process of Healing had been a matter of stripping away a dark fog to reveal what it had obscured. What Senritsu looked like now was what she had been underneath that stifling darkness all along.

With a gasp – the woman even made a gasp sound beautiful – Senritsu set the stack of plates upon the table and rushed over to her. Naeva's hands were enveloped in her delicate grasp, and those glittering green eyes were poring into her own tearfully. "Thank you, Naeva. Thank you so much."

Naeva shook her head. "It was an honor to be able to do anything for you. I am very grateful-" Her voice broke a little and that was grating, but she tried to finish smoothly. "-that you trusted me enough to let me try."

Kurapika took the moment to chime in, "We should eat breakfast while it's still hot."

Naeva's stomach ached with appreciation at the offer of food and at once that was all she could think about. Senritsu urged her to the table with a hand on her back and pulled a chair out for her to sit down. A plate was rapidly filled with food and placed in front of her.

Her hand was already reaching for a fork – thank the Light that at least the cutlery of this world was not foreign to her – when Kurapika spoke up again, a lacing of uncertainty in his voice. "I realized that I didn't have the slightest clue what you might like to eat, so I made one of my usual breakfasts. Rice with carrots, peppers, cauliflower, and poached eggs. I hope that will be alright." He almost seemed nervous.

The absurdity of that made her smile even as her heart squeezed, a tender throb within her chest. "This is better than merely alright. Thank you, Lord Kurapika." _Even if I do not have the faintest idea what a colly flower is._ Naeva picked up her fork in a motion that was more fierce than she had intended and took a large bite before she could humiliate herself by crying over breakfast. That plan backfired the instant the taste hit her tongue – fresh, rich, mildly spicy – and unexpected tears of joy stung the corners of her eyes. She forced herself to eat slowly and savor every bite, knowing that if she gave in to the gluttonous need in her gut she would only make herself sick. Fortunately, nobody seemed to expect conversation from her and the meal passed in a silence that was not uncomfortable.

When the meal was finished, Kurapika gathered the dishes and deposited them into what she noted was another sink like the one in the bathroom. He then leaned himself back against the counter top and regarded her.

"Ah, your eyes!" Naeva exclaimed right as the realization struck her. "They have always been black, but today they are gray."

Kurapika blinked a few times. "I wear contacts outside of the house to cover the color." Those gentle eyes went distant with thought, or perhaps memory. "A trait of the Kurta clan... my eyes are naturally gray, but heightened emotions turn them a glowing and unmistakable scarlet. The color of my people's eyes became so valued as trophies that my entire clan was massacred for them. I am the only one left." His brows lowered as he refocused a more solemn gaze on her own. "At first it was only the need to avenge my clan and see their remains laid to rest that kept me moving forward. I had nothing else – nothing left even to lose. What I didn't know yet was that it was my own decision whether or not to be alone. At some point, I found that there were people around me who wanted to stand by my side and help me shoulder my burdens. They reminded me why life was worth living in the first place, and that all I had to do was be brave enough to try again. It would have been far easier to keep my isolation, but I am glad now that I didn't."

Naeva nodded, grudgingly willing to accept both the truth and the challenge in his words. Her mind started racing sporadically from thought to thought. "I do not know what to do." As the unwelcome sensation of helplessness overwhelmed her, words bubbled up. "I cannot be what I used to be, and do not know who I am without that." She was speeding up now, bursting from the seams of her self-control. "I may as well have died. I was never supposed to be here, or to know any of you. I am like a ghost." She noted with a degree of horrified shame that her voice was hysterical by the end of that and clenched her jaw shut.

Her mortification over speaking without forethought was compounded by the flash of pained sympathy that crossed Kurapika's features. Just as quickly, the sympathy was replaced by a look of such stern reprimand that she almost flinched. "You are not any sort of ghost. You lost the world you knew, but you found this one. The irrefutable proof that none if it is meaningless is in the impact you've already made on our lives."

Senritsu nodded emphatically. "I barely allowed myself the privilege of hoping that I might ever return my body to normal. Barring a miracle, I knew it would be almost impossible. You performed that miracle for my life. I don't take it lightly and you shouldn't, either."

Naeva looked between the two of them, only halfheartedly searching for a sign that they were less than fully committed to entangling themselves with her. Finding nothing, she sighed. "I do not take any of this lightly," she said, then attempted smoothing some of the mulishness from her tone before she went on, "It is only that you know next to nothing about me, and how could I even begin to explain?"

Kurapika seated himself again at the table. "You know as little about us, and even less about our world. We can trade questions and answers, if you like."

Hesitantly, Naeva nodded agreement. She racked her brain and came to the unfortunate conclusion that it was going to be difficult for her to even know what sort of questions to ask. Crossing her arms to ignore her temptation to fidget, she decided to start simply. "How old are you both?"

"I'm twenty-three," Senritsu answered with a soft smile.

"Twenty-one," Kurapika said. He followed up immediately with his own question. "Is everyone in your world a channeler?"

She shook her head. "Less than one percent of the population has the ability. Among those, there is a vast disparity in levels of strength, skill, and inborn Talents which cannot be learned. What happened to Moghedien after I lost consciousness?" The inquiry had left her lips before she had even acknowledged the thought.

Kurapika frowned. "Killua and I left her there for the Holy Coventry. I presume they will put her to trial for the crimes she committed against them. Execution is a possibility... I will look into it and find out for certain. Can you Heal anything the way you Healed Senritsu?"

That one required a long pause while she allowed herself to really consider the answer. "Not anything, although the precise limits are difficult for me to know." Naeva pressed her lips together briefly before saying the rest of what she wanted to. "My mother used to claim that she could Heal anyone from anything if they had even the smallest spark of life remaining, but I have nowhere near her level of Talent. She did teach me what she could."

"Can you not Heal yourself?" Senritsu asked.

"That, no channeler can do. Now," Naeva went on more hurriedly when it looked like Senritsu had another question, "it is my turn again. What do you do? To earn your livelihood, I mean." She had been curious about that ever since the tour of this mansion. It did not seem this world had appointed Kurapika a Lord, given his aversion to the title, and therefore he must have some illustrious trade profession.

Kurapika and Senritsu exchanged an uncomfortable glance between themselves. It was Kurapika who answered, "The both of us work for the Mafia." When that only earned him a confused stare from her, he went on to elaborate, "The Mafia being the collective term for an organized network of powerful criminals."

"Ah," Naeva said dumbly. They gave her some time to let that honest answer sink in.

Senritsu leaned forward and folded her forearms atop the table. "We each had our separate reasons for choosing to do such work. It's distasteful, but it gives us a necessary insight into the underworld. And-" The look she aimed at Kurapika was a warm one. "-Kurapika has cleaned up the activities of the group he himself controls."

Before Naeva could muster any real response, Kurapika asked his next question. "Naeva, have you ever heard of Nen?" Senritsu shot him a quick, startled glance that he didn't appear to take notice of.

"No." Naeva picked up her glass of water for a sip. "What is Nen?"

Kurapika lifted his right hand. Her focus snapped immediately to the chain bracelet connected to five rings on his fingers. _How did I not notice that earlier?_ It was crafted of thick silver rather than thin gold, but was still an eerie match to her mother's _angreal._ Before she could do more than blink at the bracelet, extra chains appeared from nowhere. They coiled loosely around Kurapika's hand and floated in the surrounding air before vanishing. "Even in this world, there are few who know about Nen. It's a method of harnessing one's own life force. Just as people are unique from one another, so are the abilities granted by learning to use Nen. A full explanation would be both confusing and time consuming, so it can wait. Leorio, Killua, Gon, myself and Senritsu... we're all Nen users."

Senritsu shifted in her seat. "The song that I played for you in the hospital – that's part of my own ability. I play music to evoke potent emotions."

Naeva tried her best to absorb that. She felt a pang of remorse for not having bothered to explain channeling. It surely made no more sense to them than _that_ had to her. _We are supposed to be trading questions, but perhaps I owe them a better answer than I have already given._ "Channeling uses the One Power. That is the energy that turns the Wheel of Time, brings forth green growth, stirs the winds, and churns the oceans. Pulling it into oneself is a drain on the physical body and channelers vary in how much capacity they have to handle it." She paused for a longer drink of water. "The One Power is divided into a male half, Saidin, and a female half, Saidar. There are five distinct aspects – Fire, Water, Earth, Air, and Spirit. Each has a function. Combining threads of one or more of the individual aspects into what is called a weave creates myriad uses."

They went on exchanging questions and the time quite flew by. Naeva felt grateful that nothing very personal was asked of her. At some point they were interrupted by a chiming noise that Senritsu helpfully pointed out was called a doorbell – an alert that someone was requesting entry to the house. Kurapika left to greet the arrival. The elderly man he led inside was dressed impeccably well, carried a burdened satchel in one hand, and he had kindly brown eyes.

"Naeva, this is Grego Martruce." Kurapika introduced the man. "He's here to take your measurements for new clothes."

She stood up from her chair to drop a bow. "My name is Naeva Mandragoran. I am pleased to make your acquaintance, Master Martruce." The title left her habitually, but it did not seem to cause offense.

Grego smiled, deepening the wrinkles of his face. "Oh my, what a polite young Lady. The pleasure is mine, Miss Naeva." He bowed to her in turn, then straightened and turned a critical look to Kurapika. "Is she wearing your boxer shorts?"

Senritsu covered her mouth with one hand to stifle her abrupt giggle. Kurapika's face flushed as he answered, "That would be why you are billing me for an express order, Grego."

Naeva resisted the temptation to glance self-consciously down at herself. _Boxer shorts? I suppose I can ask Alluka._

The old man shook his head with disapproval, but the corners of his lips gave a telltale twitch of amusement. "It's a good thing I came prepared."

Kurapika got his coloring back under control – with impressive quickness – and nodded once. "Come along this way, I'll offer you the den to set up a workstation in."

This was beginning to sound like an ordeal, but Naeva trailed along through the foyer below the stairs and into the spacious sitting room across from the kitchen. Grego put his heavy satchel down upon a low table. He proceeded to withdraw a coiled measurement strip, a pile of folded clothing, assorted spools of thread, and lastly a strange and bulky object that she was uncertain of. As he unraveled the measurement strip and waved her over, Kurapika and Senritsu sat alongside one another on the couch.

Grego took her measurements, occasionally with a wince. "We'll give you some extra inches to grow into, I think."

Naeva felt her cheeks burn. The statement was less unpleasant than having to come to terms with her bony body in the bath as she had, but it still stung. "I would greatly appreciate that."

Grego selected a spool of thread, which he began to slip through tiny hooks and grooves in the bulky, unnamed contraption. "What kind of clothes do you like to wear, Miss Naeva?" He spoke as he worked, already pulling a few of the garments he had brought with him over to the... whatever it was.

Naeva darted a hesitant glance to Kurapika. "Would it be appropriate for me to wear britches?"

His brows lifted. "Of course it is."

She reigned in her elated smile at that and addressed Grego again. "I do like britches. Also-" She had her hand halfway lifted to rub at her neck and then forced it back to her side. "-high necklines would be preferable."

The man took that all as a matter of course. He flicked a small silver lever that made the strange contraption before him hum noisily. "It'll be quick enough to tailor what I brought with me, and I'll send additional pieces as I complete them. Do you have fabric or color preferences?" His eyes flickered up at her as his hands worked adroitly with the cloth and the noisome object. "White would look lovely with your complexion. Red, as well"

"Muted colors, please." Naeva spoke quickly, resisting another wave of embarrassment that threatened to make her blush again. _Burn me, it is not as if I have not gone through this process countless times before._ "Nothing too flashy." He was retrieving scissors now to clip away excess fabric. She clasped her left wrist tightly with her right hand and added in a small voice, "I do enjoy lace."

Senritsu beamed up at her. With his arm around her shoulders, Kurapika looked merely thoughtful.

"That's no trouble at all," Grego assured her cheerily. He pulled free the cloth he had been working on and shook it out. "But I hope you don't mind tolerating a dress for today. Most young girls I design for request dresses, so that's what I brought with me." He gave her another appraising sidelong look, then passed over what he had altered so quickly. "It's at least better than anyone else seeing you in what you've got on right now."

Naeva accepted the dress and bowed again. "Thank you, Master Martruce." She turned to offer Kurapika a smile. "Thank you as well, Lord Kurapika." She wanted to say more – to find some way of conveying just how unexpected and extraordinary his kindness to her was – but knew her composure would not be able to handle it. _I am not going to start weeping over a blasted dress. Breakfast was one thing, but I do not even like dresses._

Kurapika returned her smile with a better one. "I'm glad to be able to help."

Senritsu stood from the couch and traipsed gracefully over. "Let's go get you dressed properly, shall we?" She accepted a few other small things from Grego – including a pair of new shoes – and then put a hand on her shoulder. Naeva let herself be led off.

Once the two of them were in her room and Naeva had set aside the loose, comfortable clothes that were Kurapika's, she began hurrying into the new. Smallclothes in this world were considerably smaller than she was used to, but then that was only one of many things that she found odd. Far more disturbing was that the fluttering red dress did not quite reach her knees – and the sleeves only just covered her shoulders! She had seen enough in the city to know that this world had vastly different standards for what constituted scandalous attire, but it was one thing to witness on others and another to wear for herself. "I look-"

"You look pretty, Naeva." Senritsu spoke without looking up from helping her into the hard soled almost-slippers that were to be her shoes for the day.

Once Senritsu had the buckles fastened, she stood and stepped back to scan over what had mostly been her handiwork. The dress was not buttoned or laced as Naeva was used to. Although she might have figured out on her own how to operate what she now knew was called a zipper, it was still nice to have had the assistance. As Senritsu was finishing with tying up her hair, there was a knock upon the door.

"That's only Kurapika. Are you ready?" Senritsu whispered – she truly had the most gentle voice Naeva had ever heard in her life. At the consenting nod, she raised her volume only slightly. "You can come in."

Kurapika opened the door and strode inside with a small bundle of more clothing in his hands. He set it all down on the bed. "Grego left these so you'll have something for sleepwear tonight." He looked up at her and offered a small smile. "You look very nice."

 _Blood and ashes._ _I look like some farmer's favorite scarecrow._ The thought was galling in that it was true, but Naeva managed to keep it internal.

"Oh, I also thought you might like this." Kurapika reached into his coat pocket and pulled out a square piece of black satin. "For a scarf?" He suggested, voice hopeful.

Naeva nearly lost herself to another fit of tears. Her eyes certainly watered. "That is most kind of you, Lord Kurapika."

He bent and fastened the kerchief around her neck to cover the scar from the _a'dam_. "Senritsu and I have business today. Would you like to stay here and rest? I can call someone over to take care of you while I'm gone." Her instant paranoia at the thought of spending the day with some strange new person must have shown on her face, for Kurapika went on with nary a pause. "Maybe you could spend the day with Alluka, instead? I'm sure she'll be enthusiastic to teach you all about the world."

At that notion, Naeva's mood brightened considerably. _I would be so happy to see Alluka today!_ "If she is not busy, that would be-" _Outstanding. Marvelous. Fun? Odd, how little opportunity in my life I have had to use that word._ "-fun!"

Kurapika chuckled. "That's a much better plan, then."


	6. Into the Deep End

Alluka was all but bouncing on her toes with excitement. She kept walking the lobby in circles, stopping by the table where Gon and Killua sat to have a drink of her tea and then hustling back over to look out the window and see if she could spot Kurapika's car.

After her sixth circuit, her brother grabbed her hand with an amused smile. "Your weird little friend will be here any minute, okay? You might as well sit down."

Alluka beamed at the words. _My friend –_ my _friend! Isn't that nice to hear?_

 _Aye!_ Nanika agreed in her mind.

She did sit down, although only on the edge of her chair. Restlessly, Alluka swung her legs. "It feels like we've been waiting for forever already."

Gon laughed brightly. "I'm so lucky I get to be here for all this excitement. It sure beats homework."

Alluka nodded wholehearted agreement. "Yes it does."

Her brother narrowed his eyes minutely over his mug of coffee. "Don't think you're getting out of doing that math you've been putting off, Alluka. We'll have time later to-" His gaze flicked up and he waved a hand in the direction of the doorway.

When Alluka whirled around in her chair, she spotted them. Naeva was being escorted over to their table by Kurapika and someone she didn't recognize. Her attention was all for her friend and she bounded up to her feet. "Naeva!"

"I am happy to see you again so soon, Alluka." Naeva spoke with a small smile.

"Is that- Senritsu, is that really you?" Gon was gawking at the beautiful woman beside Kurapika. "You smell like you, but..."

The woman blushed. "It's me. My curse has been lifted- or, healed."

Well, that was certainly the same musical voice she remembered. Alluka tried very hard not to goggle at the massive transformation. For some reason, Naeva's cheeks had reddened to match her dress.

Killua's eyes glittered with quick thought. His gaze lingered on Senritsu a moment before sharpening on Naeva. " _You_ did it, right? How?"

Naeva straightened up and smoothed the embarrassment – if not the blush – from her features. "Did I not mention that I can heal?" She spoke that quite haughtily.

Gon swerved his wondering look to her. "Wow."

"It took what remained of her energy last night," Senritsu said. "I was afraid, but she was so confident."

Kurapika smiled, maybe the widest Alluka had ever seen from him. "I'm glad to see you all look as stunned as I felt." Naeva shifted uncomfortably, then steeled her posture once again as Kurapika knelt and put his hands on her shoulders. "I expect that I will be back around dinnertime tonight. You'll be okay until then, right?"

Naeva nodded affirmation. "You need not fret over me, Lord Kurapika."

"We'll make sure she doesn't get herself run over by a car or anything, _Lord_ Kurapika," Killua teased wryly.

Kurapika disregarded the quip and stood back up. He laced the fingers of one hand with Senritsu's. _Ooh, that's interesting. Kurapika and Senritsu... are they together now? They're so cute!_ "We'll be going, then. I'm unfortunately late already." They exchanged goodbyes and the atmosphere grew thick with silence after the two of them had left.

Alluka took her new friend by the hand and gave her a heartfelt smile when it was clear she was nervous. "We're going to have fun today, I know it."

That seemed to bolster Naeva, because she returned the smile with enthusiasm. "I am quite looking forward to it."

Gon grinned. "Where do you wanna go first?"

Naeva glanced between the three of them. "I would not know where to begin."

"I say we throw you right into the deep end. Maybe the arcade," Killua suggested. He stood up, hefting his skateboard and settling it nonchalantly across his shoulders.

"Oh, yes!" Alluka agreed. "You'll love the arcade, Naeva!"

Gon's eyes sparked as he pushed back from the table. "I'm gonna beat you at DDR today, Killua."

Her brother stuck his tongue out. "You wish _._ I'm still reigning champion."

"Not for long!" Gon bounded to his feet and bolted for the door with Killua hot on his heels.

Naeva's expression was nothing short of amazed as she watched the two.

Alluka gave her hand a squeeze and pulled her along to follow after them. "They're both super competitive. You'll get used to it."

"I have never..." Naeva shook her head slowly. She lowered her voice. "I do not exactly know what a youthful friendship is supposed to be like. I think they must be very close, those two."

" _Best_ friends," Alluka said as they hustled out onto the sidewalk.

Killua was turning lazy circles on his skateboard while he waited for them.

"What is that thing?" Naeva had leaned in close to Alluka to whisper that, but Killua heard her anyway.

He smirked. "It's called a skateboard. Wanna try?"

"Absolutely not _._ " Naeva lifted her chin. "My own legs will suit me fine."

Killua snorted. "Those spindly things? You look like someone stuffed a scarecrow into a dress, by the way."

"Onii-chan!" Alluka reprimanded him automatically. "You should be-" Her words cut off. _Nicer. I was going to say he should be nicer to her._

Naeva had doubled over with a fit of laughter. They all stared at her, and she only waved away their concerned looks. "Light!" She managed to pull herself back together and straighten up, but it took a while. "It is only that I had the very same thought this morning."

 _Naeva is funny!_ Nanika's thought was riotously entertained.

_I've always been the strangest person in any group before. Oh, I really hope we can be good friends!_

_Aye!_

Gon took advantage of her brother's distraction, sticking out his foot to trip up the skateboard.

Killua lurched forward and stumbled across the sidewalk as he stopped his momentum, then whirled around too quickly to leave even a blur. He swung his elbow but Gon was already gone.

"Ha!" Gon stuck around long enough to flash a broad grin and then was hurrying ahead down the sidewalk.

"Real mature, Gon!" Killua shouted after him. He kicked his skateboard upright and hopped to land on it in a smooth motion before glancing back to the two of them. "C'mon slowpokes, let's go."

* * *

Naeva's every sense became overloaded when they walked into the arcade. The interior was dark save for a myriad of bright, flashing lights that cast a rainbow-hued glow. The air was filled with a cacophony the likes of which she had never heard, interspersed with cheers of delight or groans of disappointment from the people crowding and hustling about. Equally peculiar, those people were all children – they seemed to range in age from younger than herself to just older than Killua and Gon. The two boys were already negotiating across a service counter with a slouching adolescent girl who pushed a pile of silver coins toward them.

Alluka turned an eager smile on her. "Nothing but games, everywhere. That's pretty cool, right?"

"These are games?" Naeva murmured the question, scrutinizing the close-packed and noisome machines more intently. "How does it all work?"

Alluka explained as Killua and Gon wandered back over to them. "You pay money to play whichever games you want, and then you earn paper tickets depending on how well you did. At the end you get to exchange your tickets for prizes."

Naeva was able to soothe some of her apprehension, at that. It sounded familiar enough to her. "It is a little like gambling, yes?"

Killua scowled, but Gon laughed and hurriedly agreed with her. "Yep, basically it's gambling." He shrugged. "Killua just can't admit he's a junkie."

"That's it." Killua aimed a swift kick that caught Gon in the shin. "You and me, DDR. I'm gonna wipe the floor with you."

Gon hopped on one foot and rubbed at his knee, but he was grinning.

Killua extended his fist laden with those gleaming coins and Alluka let him drop some of them into her waiting palm. When Naeva did not put her own hand out he clicked his tongue and flipped her palm up with a light grip on her wrist and then distributed an equal amount to her.

Naeva frowned. She wanted very much to argue against accepting what seemed likely to be the coinage of this world. Her tutors had taught her to be wary of any goodwill offered without predetermined agreement of recompense – and they only half so adamant as her mother had always been about it. She smoothed the uncertainty from her features. _Light help me, but I do not want to live like that any longer. This is not daes dae'mar._ Her moment of turmoil went unnoticed, so far as she could tell. Killua and Gon had already started off together toward whatever peculiar game they sought, snickering and sniping amiably at one another.

Alluka stepped into her sight, an image of tentative concern. "Are you alright?"

Naeva opened her mouth to say that yes, of course she was, and then closed it again with a click of teeth. _I am floundering. Burn me!_ "It is all very overwhelming." Her own voice was timid enough that she wanted to cringe. "I do not know-" _I do not know how to function when I am so witless. I do not know how to trust when I am helpless._ She focused, with great effort, on the warm blue eyes of the girl that provided her with at least one singular certainty. _I want to be her friend. I want that so badly._ Naeva swallowed the nervous lump in her throat and summoned a smile. "I have much to learn, and I am going to try my hardest."

"You can ask me about anything," Alluka said quickly. "I know everything's different and you're probably really confused."

 _It would be simpler if it were only getting used to how different this Mirror World is._ Naeva could not bring herself to speak that aloud. The last thing she wanted to do was draw even more emphasis to how maladjusted she was. This was her fresh start – the opportunity to be a common girl. Well, as common as she could be in a world with no other channelers. "Thank you, Alluka." Naeva surveyed her surroundings again and felt that some of her excitement was rekindling despite that heavy trepidation. "This place will serve as a fine lesson in and of itself, I should think. Where do we begin?"

Alluka pulled her along enthusiastically from machine to machine. Most of them were terribly loud, but perhaps that only added to the exhilaration of it all. One silver coin went into each, and in return they received varying amounts of tiny paper tickets. They spent a good deal of time at the game she found most personally enjoyable – skee-ball, it was called. Naeva quite got the hang of rolling the weighty ball up the slope and accrued a fair amount of tickets there. At some point while Alluka was jubilantly explaining the mechanisms of pin-ball to her, Killua and Gon wandered up behind them. The two boys had enough tickets between them to make her realize that she probably had not been doing as well as she had assumed.

"Ready to cash in and go get some lunch?" Killua asked, gesturing vaguely toward the prize counter.

"Oh." Alluka deflated for an instant, but perked immediately back up. "Just one more game! I want to try and win a stuffed animal." She grinned and linked their hands once more to tug her along. The boys followed.

Naeva found herself standing in front of a large glass box holding an assortment of colorful toys and fuzzy animal shapes. She was immensely relieved at the discovery that 'stuffed animal' was not going to be a food she was expected to eat. Alluka slipped her last coin into the machine and put her hand on a shiny black lever. She manipulated it deftly and a metal... claw-thing... in the box jerked around. When she pushed the red button on the top of the lever the claw lowered toward the plush figure of a red fox. It wrapped around the body of the toy and started to lift it up. Alluka sucked in a quick breath, eyes alight with triumph, and in the very next moment the claw seemed to weaken and partially release its grip. The fox fell back to the pile and Alluka wilted, resting her brow against the glass with an almost heartbroken expression. As if it were actively taunting them, the claw moved back to its original position and opened wide – had the fox only stayed where it should have, it would then have been dropped into the prize box below.

"It cheated you." Naeva bristled with confusion. "Should you not have won? You aimed correctly."

Alluka sniffled. "I never win at this one."

Gon gave the two of them an apologetic sidelong look. "It _is_ kinda rigged. People say that there's a technique to it, but I barely ever see anyone win."

"It was such a cute little fox, too." Alluka sighed and turned away. Her brother patted her soothingly atop the head and she smiled up at him.

Killua returned the smile. "We can pool our tickets together and you can get one of the giant stuffed animals, if you want."

"Yeah, I guess so." Alluka's expression trembled down into a frown.

Naeva hesitated only briefly before slipping her last coin into the machine. _If the machine is designed to be unfair..._ "Try once more, Alluka. You lined it up so perfectly." She smiled to offer encouragement and lowered her voice. "This time I shall assist. If you have never won against this blasted contraption, I think it only fair."

"You're going to cheat?" Killua arched an eyebrow at her. He did not sound accusatory, not precisely, but his tone was distinctly dry.

She pouted, trying to think up an appropriate defense, but Gon beat her to it. "Nah, she's right. The claw's the cheater." The amber eyed boy smiled at her. "Are you gonna use your powers?"

"Only a whit," Naeva admitted. "If the claw closes around the toy, it ought rightly stay closed."

Alluka's eyes glinted determination as she stepped back up to the lever. "Alright. But only if I can manage to grab it again, okay?"

"Certainly," Naeva said. She watched that steel claw slide around until it was suspended roughly over the target. When it descended again, it grabbed completely around the head of the fox. She promptly wove a hair thin flow of Air to wrap them together and as the claw lifted the toy stayed in place. Naeva released the weave when it was hovering back over the prize box and the fox dropped.

"We did it!" Alluka spluttered as if that was almost unthinkable. She retrieved her reward and stared at it adoringly, then hugged it to her chest. "We won!" With a gleeful cheer, she then tossed her arms around Naeva and the little toy was squeezed between them in the embrace. It was a gentle one – Alluka was likely being mindful of her healing ribs. And... it was remarkably pleasant. Naeva laughed herself breathless, thrilled to have been able to assist in bringing such simple happiness.

After the arcade, Gon and Killua argued about where to get lunch. Naeva took no part in that debate, and it went on long enough that she was almost certain the two would never reach a consensus.

"Let's go to the park!" Alluka's suggestion cut off both boys. "We can get tacos from a street vendor and eat outside." She capped that off with a chipper grin.

Gon matched her grin. "That's a great idea."

"Tacos it is, then." Killua patted his hand over Alluka's hair. His expression was so soft when he did that. She had never been around siblings so close as they, but again, likely that was the fault of her own unconventional upbringing.

 _What are tacos?_ Naeva suppressed the question and trailed after everyone else. She did not want to voice more of her ubiquitous questions just yet. Besides, the pizza had been delicious. Possibly tacos would be just as enjoyable of a surprise. Eating outside certainly sounded an enjoyable notion. She had always loved to go on picnics with her mother. The toe of her strange shoes scuffed across the walking path when she nearly missed a step. Just like that, grief was back to cloud over her. Naeva hung her head, hoping nobody would then be able to glimpse her watery eyes, and forced her steps to be smooth.

"Naeva-chan?" Alluka's voice spoke in a whisper beside her ear as the other girl leaned close.

She found that her arm was being twined with Alluka's. Naeva blinked a few times to clear her eyes before she looked over. She tried to smile, tried to push the thoughts of her parents far to the back of her mind. "Chan?" She had already forgotten her pledge not to embarrass herself with too many inquiries.

Alluka smiled, a shade embarrassed. Her cheeks pinked very becomingly. "Oh, I- I thought I'd call you Naeva-chan, because we're friends."

 _We are? Already? Does she truly like me?_ Naeva felt her own smile lighten with real sincerity. "I like it... Alluka-chan." She tested speaking the endearment herself, and it rewarded her with an even brighter smile from her new friend.

There was the sound of a coo, and she turned her attention forward to see that both of the boys were walking backward and watching them. Gon had emitted the fond little noise, and he seemed entirely unabashed about it. "Girls are so _cute~!_ " He grinned over at his own best friend.

Killua's face flushed and he whirled around to look forward again. "My sister's cute. Naeva's too weird."

Gon scowled and swung a fist to catch Killua on the arm. "That was rude."

"Was it?" Naeva felt genuinely bemused. Gon's eyes widened at her. Killua darted a guardedly suspicious look backward. Naeva elaborated, her voice a tad thinner than it should have been. "It is only that... well, I find everything here to be right peculiar. I expect that I am very weird, from your perspectives."

"Yeah, but-" Gon affected a very matter-of-fact tone. "-it doesn't have to be pointed out constantly. Killua just has poor social skills." When Killua shot him a scathing glare for that, he dealt one right back. "Well, you do!"

So ensued another argument between the two, this one more heated than the last and peppered with a number of swings, kicks, and dodges while they walked. Alluka's arm left hers, but only so that she could catch up to her brother and frown severely at him. The argument ended at her approach – she was evidently quite good at that. "Onii-chan, it _was_ rude." She crossed her arms and her eyes glittered with reproach. "You should be nice to my friend."

Killua's brows shot up. He looked almost as if he felt under attack. "But Alluka, I-" He winced, then heaved a breath and spun on his heel to fix Naeva with a rueful glare. "I didn't mean to be rude, or whatever." Neither Gon nor Alluka ceased staring him down. The pink on his cheeks spread to his hairline. A tiny sound of frustration worked its way up from his throat. "I'm sorry, okay?" He got that out between gritted teeth and then spun right back around.

Naeva covered her mouth with her hand to stifle a fit of giggles. She reigned it in as quickly as she could, though not quickly enough to prevent everyone staring at her. "Truly, I do not need any apology."

Alluka smiled at her, a trace of concern in the expression. "I just don't want you to think that my brother's a jerk. He's really not, even though he sounds that way sometimes." She appeared to take no notice of the way her brother's jaw dropped.

Naeva shook her head. "If jerk is a disparaging term, I assure you I have not thought it even once. Master Killua saved me, after all."

" _Just_ Killua!" he spluttered.

Naeva only half-heard his indignation. Her feet had stopped mid-pace. She turned her head to stare out across the field of grass and trees that had cropped up in the middle of this city.

"Hey, we're here!" Gon's excited declaration was heard only distantly.

Naeva walked forward into the field, spellbound. That was not for the greenery, nor the milling people, nor the strange brightly-colored apparatus that young children were clambering atop. "Is that music?" She heard herself murmur the question in a vague sort of way. Her steps quickened to bring her nearer to the source of the sound. There was a high stage in the distance, a crowd of people before it, and five men with instruments standing atop.

"Of course it's music," Killua said, and Naeva glanced over to see that he had caught up to walk beside her. "Is it that different from what you're used to?"

Naeva nodded absently as she turned her focus back on the high stage. Closer now, she could make out lyrics.

_-on the floor, or sleeping in a king-sized bed._

_But you're gonna have to serve somebody._

_Yes, indeed, you're gonna have to serve somebody._

_And it may be the devil, or it may be the lord,_

_But you're gonna have to serve somebody._

There was a slow, pounding beat produced by drums that looked as foreign as they sounded. She was unable to discern which of the instruments was responsible for that low vibration that she could feel trembling through her skin. It was astonishing. The song itself was a touch sultry and the voice of the man in center stage – he sang into an odd handheld device – was gravelly, with less regard for clean notes than for making every line an emotionally roughened plea.

Naeva stopped well back from the edge of the crowd, lest she lose her view by being unable to see over anyone. She watched, enthralled, as the song wound to a close. The next song that began was more sonically similar to what she was accustomed to, if only just. It was softer, though the vocals were no less hoarse and imploring. One minstrel held a strange instrument to his mouth – a very small, flat piece of metal – and when he blew through it, the sound was indescribable. She shivered, and listened intently.

_Come gather 'round people, wherever you roam,_

_And admit that the waters around you have grown,_

_And accept it that soon you'll be drenched to the bone,_

_If your breath to you is worth savin',_

_Then you'd better start swimming or you'll sink like a stone,_

_For the times, they are a-changin'._

_Come writers and critics who prophesize with your pen,_

_And keep your eyes wide, the chance won't come again,_

_And don't speak too soon, for the wheel's still in spin,_

_And there's no telling who that it's namin',_

_For the loser now will be later to win,_

_'cause the times, they are a-changin'._

_Come senators, congressman, please heed the call,_

_Don't stand in the doorway, don't block up the hall,_

_For he that gets hurt will be he who has stalled,_

_There's the battle outside ragin'._

_It'll soon shake your windows and rattle your walls,_

_For the times, they are a-changin'._

_Come mothers and fathers throughout the land,_

_And don't criticize what you can't understand,_

_Your sons and your daughters are beyond your command,_

_Your old road is rapidly aging._

_Please get out of the new one if you can't lend your hand,_

_'cause the times, they are a-changin'._

_The line it is drawn, the curse it is cast,_

_The slowest now will later be fast,_

_As the present now will later be past,_

_The order is rapidly fading,_

_And the first one now will later be last,_

_For the times, they are a-changin'._

"That was marvelous," Naeva commented. She clapped her hands together with enthusiasm when the rest of the crowd began applauding.

"There's better. These guys are just some cover band." Killua aimed a wry smile at her. "You should hear the original Bode Illen versions."

Naeva blinked up at him, wishing she understood better. "Bode Illen? Is he the Bard who wrote those songs?"

Killua's smile became more mirthful. "I've never heard anyone use the word Bard outside of an RPG." He bit on his lower lip as if restraining laughter, then went on. "But yeah, I guess you could say that. They're old songs. I bet modern music would really shock you."

Naeva decided she should probably take him at his word. No new song began and when she looked back at the stage, the 'cover band' was disembarking. The crowd started to disperse. She felt a bit crestfallen, at that. _Those lyrics were lovely. And I want to know what all of those instruments were. I ought ask Senritsu. I think mayhap I could play the stringed one with the long stem._

"Do you like music, Naeva-chan?" Alluka's voice sounded from nearby.

Naeva turned back from her fascination with the stage. Alluka and Gon were just ambling up, the latter carrying a brown sack that wafted steam from the top. That reminded her that she was indeed hungry. Naeva smiled. "Very much so. Music lessons were always the most enjoyable, for me."

"You play music?" Gon asked curiously. He was seating himself down on the grass, and Naeva followed suit when everyone else did, as well.

She gave a small nod, then pursed her lips. "I play some instruments, but I did not have a name for all of those which I saw on the stage." _And I do not even know if they call drums drums, here._

"Neat. What kind of instruments _do_ you play?" Alluka's eyes sparkled with curiosity.

Naeva was rather preoccupied with the task of trying to adjust her too-short skirt so that it covered as much as possible. She answered distractedly, "Tambor, zither, flute, harp, and viol. I was learning dulcimer, and..." She let the sentence trail away when she caught sight of their bewildered expressions.

"I know what a flute and a harp are," Gon said with a cheeky grin.

"I think she probably means tambourine and violin, but I've got no clue about the zither or dulcimer," Killua said drolly.

Naeva smiled as she accepted the hot, wrapped bundle that Gon passed over to her. What was within – the aforementioned taco? – seemed to be a crisped and oily piece of... something, filled with meat and melted cheese and vegetables. It did taste quite good. She watched the children playing around the park, absorbed every unfamiliar sight, and added what contributions she could to the friendly conversation that went on during the picnic lunch. There was so much she had to learn about this Mirror World, and for all the pain of her arrival, it seemed that it had much to offer her.


	7. A Day of Firsts

"With but a little studying, I am certain I could pass that test with higher marks," Naeva said, hoping she did not sound very sulky about it. "I would not have to serve this penance if I had performed better, yes?"

Senritsu's hand fell upon her shoulder and squeezed there comfortingly. "School isn't a punishment, Naeva. You might even find that it's enjoyable."

 _It certainly looks like a place of penance._ Naeva pursed her lips, still staring out the darkened window of the car toward the sprawling mass of brick buildings. _And it is intimidating._ She hated that she felt intimidated. _At least when I went to the White Tower, I knew precisely what I was in for. Burn me, I cannot stand being so ignorant!_ That last thought, most fortunately, provided her the motivation to put her reluctance aside. Within those daunting brick buildings, she could learn enough to move beyond her ignorance.

Naeva turned to Senritsu and offered the best smile she could summon. "You are right, of course."

Senritsu's expression softened further. She never seemed to fall for Naeva's well-intentioned deceptions. "Everyone is nervous on their first day of school. I wish I had some perfect advice to make it easier for you." She sighed. "Try to have fun, okay? And if that fails, you can at least focus on all there is to learn."

Naeva inclined her head. "I understand. I shall try to the best of my ability to have fun." _And no matter what, I_ will _learn as much as I can in there._

A bright smile lit Senritsu's expression. The smile almost seemed proud, but that might only have been wishful thinking on her part. Senritsu reached out to adjust the black kerchief around Naeva's neck and preen the bow. "You look nice." Her smile became humored. "You would have looked even nicer in the skirt."

Naeva pulled a disgusted face before she could stop herself, then managed to laugh at her own petulance. "I do not know why anyone chooses to wear a skirt when britches- I mean, when pants are an option."

"Because skirts are pretty." Senritsu replied easily, finishing her ministrations by finding a slim gold hair pin within her purse to slide into Naeva's hair – secured in a neat coif – just above her ear. "And... in school, because it isn't so much a choice as it is everywhere else. This _is_ the school uniform. There are probably other girls who would prefer pants, too, but they don't have someone as convincing as Kurapika to override school rules for them."

That brought a very sincere smile to her face. Kurapika had not really had to do much convincing. The man introduced to her as the 'Superintendent of the Middle School' had slid a skirted uniform across his desk and so Naeva had slid it right back to him. The man had scoffed only until catching sight of a pointed glare from Kurapika. _He_ had made the clipped suggestion that she be allowed to wear the boys' uniform instead, and the Superintendent had hastily accommodated. Yet it would not do to feel smug about it. In fact, now she felt a twinge of empathy that the other girls here were being forced to wear that dreadful skirt. Never again in her life did she intend to wear anything she did not want to.

After exchanging a farewell with Senritsu, Naeva slid the strap of her satchel – bookbag, it was a bookbag – over her shoulder and climbed as gracefully as she could out of the car. Yet for all her attempted courage, it was a real effort not to spin around and morosely watch the car drive off.

 _I am stuck here. I had better make the best of it._ She knew where she was meant to go, at least. Ignoring the curious glances directed at her by the other children was simple enough. Although she did take note that not all of those glances were curious. Some, oddly enough, were more leery than curious. Naeva headed into one of the nearer buildings and scanned the signs above each door as she meandered the cold and sterile corridor. _2-A, 2-A..._ Ah, and there it was. Her feet carried her forward and across the threshold. She firmed her expression to impassivity.

The lesson room – classroom – was not yet full. That was good. She vastly preferred being early to being late. Of the twenty or so desks, only half were already occupied. That raised a more serious quandary, however. Where was she to sit?

"Miss Mandragoran?"

Naeva blinked up to meet the brown eyes of a man in his middle years. He had a thinning amount of gray hair atop his head, combed down and groomed as neatly as it was possible to groom such sparse hair. "Yes?"

"I'm Mr. Edsel, I'll be your teacher." He spoke kindly, if in a voice somewhat strained. Perhaps he was having a stressful day, or... on second thought, he looked as wary of her as some of the children did. How peculiar.

Naeva bowed, wondering only after she was committed to the motion whether it was strange to bow to a teacher. There was no snickering from the other students, so it must have sufficed. The teacher appeared a whit flustered, but then it seemed increasingly likely that he was nervous by nature. Mr. Edsel singled out a desk to be hers and brought her a stack of fat books. Naeva perused them idly while children chatted amongst themselves around her. _Modern History, Introductory Dialectics, Classic Literature Comprehension, Level 7 Mathematics, Level 7 Physical Science, World Geography, and..._ The last book was not hard-bound. Its cover was worn, its pages lightly yellowed. _The Portrait of Donovan White._ She decided it must be a novel.

A shrill, grating noise pierced the air. Naeva became tense and her heart thrummed with panic. _Was that an alarm? A warning?_ Nobody was rising from their seats or drawing arms. Actually, no one carried arms. Not even the teacher. That hardly seemed wise. How was this place to be defended? Were the people of this Mirror World so confident that attacks would not be launched upon their children? She filed that confusion away; she could ask someone about it later.

With an effort of concerted will, Naeva made herself relax again. The classroom had fallen silent and every student was sitting complacently at their desk. That noisome disturbance must be something ordinary to them.

Lessons began and she paid diligent attention. Dialectics and Literature Comprehension were going to be a cinch. She had thought she knew Mathematics fairly well, but not to the degree it was being taught here. After that was lunch – announced by that terrible noise sounding off again. Naeva followed the flock of students to a large mess hall. Senritsu had made her a lunch, so she found a place she could sit and eat. No one approached her, and Naeva was quite content on her own to merely observe the goings on in this place. Another loud ringing ended lunch and sent everyone scurrying back to their classrooms.

Physical science she could barely grasp at enough to make a base understanding of. It was fascinating, however, and she wanted very much to learn. Geography would be important to know, now she would be living her life out in this strangely shaped world. The final subject, History, was going to be the most problematic. Terms were thrown about left and right that she had no definitions for and references were repeatedly made to events she had never heard tell of. Naeva wrote down anything she could not understand on a blank piece of parchment – no, paper – to be researched more thoroughly later.

Once more came that loud ring that made her want to clap her hands over her ears. This time, it seemed, must be the last. A glance at the clock on the wall showed it was three forty-five pm – the time Senritsu had assured her she would be retrieved from this school. Naeva wished she could simply have Traveled by Gateway back to Kurapika's house. Even with her promise that she would be careful enough to do so where no one could possibly see, he had judged that too dangerous. To spare him the worry, she would abide by his request that she not channel in public. It was more accurately his singular rule for her, although he had delicately phrased it as anything but.

As Naeva wound her way through the crowd to the exit, she mused that the day was nowhere near as trying as she had imagined it would be. She could acknowledge now that she had deserved her failing grade on that aptitude test. As exhaustive as her prior education had been, the majority of it was now useless.

Emerging from the brick building into the open air was a considerable relief, despite that it was sweltering outside. Naeva was eager to take the crisp red coat off, but she held herself back from doing so right away. Her gaze swept the parking lot and found Kurapika immediately. He was leaning back against his car and eyeing the school grounds with a considering look. Delightfully, Alluka and Killua were there as well. Alluka beamed a grin at her and Naeva hurried over. She was engulfed promptly in an enthusiastic hug from her friend, which was as comforting as it was amusing.

"How was it?" Alluka asked. "Are the kids nice? Are the teachers scary? I've only ever had Onii-chan as my teacher, and so I've always wondered what it's like to go to a real school."

Killua scowled at that, but Alluka was not looking at him.

Naeva pondered her answers as they all clambered into Kurapika's car. She and Alluka sat alongside one another on the rear bench seat. "It was... informative. At least I learned how much I have to learn." She shifted the now burdened bookbag in her lap. "The kids were nice enough, from the interactions I witnessed. And my teacher was not at all scary." _He might even have been scared of me, for whatever reason._

"From the interactions you witnessed, huh?" Killua aimed a wry look back over his shoulder at her. "Were you too chicken to talk to anyone?"

Naeva carefully avoided frowning, but she did narrow her eyes. "Does 'chicken' have some particular meaning here, aside from the domesticated fowl?"

Killua's gaze sparked greater mirth at her ignorance, although his sister was glaring reproof at him on her behalf. "It means cowardly."

Naeva stuck her chin up, a more or less automatic response. "I am not a coward. No one spoke to me, and so I did not speak to them." She faltered, then glanced to Alluka for assistance. "Was I supposed to?"

Alluka shrugged her shoulders. "Probably? I mean, you can always try again tomorrow." She smiled in a conspiratorial way. "Don't let Onii-chan make you think he knows everything. He's never been to a regular school, either."

"Because I don't _need_ to," Killua countered, his adamant tone rather belied by the flush risen to his cheeks.

Kurapika's smile quivered for a moment, like he might be holding back on laughter. "I'm sure you'll adjust to it all in time, Naeva."

"Of course," Naeva said assuredly, even as the implication started a flutter of anxiety in her middle. _How much time? I want to learn quickly._ Before she could begin to sweat, she peeled off that stifling jacket. An earlier curiosity reoccurred to her. "There was this abominable sound used to keep time. When I first heard it, I thought it must be an alarm. It was not, but if it were _..._ " She tried not to frown, more bothered the longer she puzzled over the issue. "I would expect that at least the teachers be armed, but they are not. I find that worrisome, Kurapika." Softly, she exhaled. Kurapika's eyes in the mirror were concerned. "As I must keep my channeling discreet, mayhap I could wear a sword?"

Killua, who had been only arching an eyebrow at her, whipped back around in a hurry to muffle his snickering with both hands. Naeva glowered at the back of his head.

"You can't wear a sword to school," Kurapika told her firmly. "They would probably expel you." He continued after darting a reproving glare at Killua that put a rapid stop to the latter's snickering, and his tone gentled. "There is no need to be worried about the school being attacked. That's an extreme rarity here, and there are measures in place to protect the students."

While that did not assuage all of her worry, it did well enough. _An extreme rarity... there are no Shadowspawn here. Not a one. The only Forsaken is Stilled and imprisoned. I do not even think there are any Darkfriends. I suppose I ought be relieved._ She did not feel relieved in the slightest. Perhaps vigilance against the Shadow was too long ingrained in her. _I have no people to defend. I am no Dai'shan._ She closed her eyes, preemptively guarding against a swell of emotion. _Malkier is safer with me gone, anyhow._

The warmth of another hand curled tight around hers. "Are you okay?" Alluka's voice, politely lowered to a whisper.

Naeva opened her eyes and mustered a smile. "I am."

"How about..." Excitement glittered in Alluka's eyes and she turned her attention forward. "Kurapika-san, may we please stop for ice cream?"

Kurapika's smile was audible in his voice. "That sounds like an excellent idea."

"Your treat, right?" Killua put in with a glib little smirk.

"That would be a kindness," Kurapika said dryly, "given your proclivity toward making poor financial decisions."

Killua's brows lowered. He opened his mouth and then closed it again, expression twisting up irritably. Perhaps he had no good retort.

Well, Naeva had better things to be inquisitive about than whether or not Killua was negligent with his coinage. "What _is_ ice cream?"

"It's fantastic!" That was not much of an answer at all, but Alluka was ecstatic to give it.

When the car stopped, right up against the sidewalk, they were in a rather bustling section of the city. Kurapika and Killua japed good-naturedly between one another as they set the course for an establishment whose signage proclaimed it 'Moriarty's Ice Cream Parlor'.

The scent of sugar was heavy in the conditioned air within, which was pleasant. A white board – much like the one she had just stared at for hours in the classroom – was mounted high on the wall behind the service counter and displayed a rather imposing list of scrawled... _Most of those are food-names. They must all be foods. Varieties? What in the Light is Cotton Candy? That sounds horrible. People do not eat cotton here, do they?_

Naeva leaned close to Alluka to whisper in her ear. "I am lost."

Alluka grinned at her. "I'm getting Butter Toffee Pecan. But since you've never had ice cream before, maybe you should try something simple." Her gaze swept over that high list rapidly once again. "One of the basics, like Vanilla or Cherry or Chocolate." She emitted a thoughtful hum and her big blue eyes swam with longing. "Ooh, now I kind of want Pistachio."

"Just get one scoop of each." Killua spun on his heel with a sunny smile for his sister. He then affected a more authoritative look as he focused on Naeva. "You, too. But skip Vanilla – Vanilla is the most boring flavor. You should try Cherry and Chocolate."

Kurapika shook his head. "Vanilla is the most classic flavor, Killua."

"And _boring_ ," Killua reiterated, very emphatically.

"It is the perfect canvas for creativity," Kurapika countered. "Vanilla is infinitely adaptable, delicious with just about any topping."

The two appeared quite invested in this debate.

Killua crossed his arms. "Because it's so bland! Nobody just wants to have Vanilla on its own. Except for boring people."

As it did not seem an argument that would find resolution, Naeva interjected. "I do not know what Vanilla is." The both of them swiveled swift and surprised looks to her. Naeva felt her face heat. "I do not know what Chocolate is, either."

At that, Killua's expression became something near to scandalized. He recovered right away, shoving his hands into his pockets and skewering her with a more scrutinous look. "Maybe you know it by some other name. I really don't want to think there's a world out there where chocolate just doesn't exist." He only muttered that last, perhaps speaking more to himself than to her.

"Vanilla is extracted from a variety of orchid flower," Kurapika offered the elaboration. "Chocolate comes from Cacao seeds, which grow contained within large pods on trees in tropical biomes."

That sparked nothing at all familiar in her memory. And so the decision was made – by Kurapika and Killua – that she would have one scoop each of Vanilla and Chocolate. Ah, and whatever 'chocolate chips' were, but with Killua's insistence that they be separate. When they were all settled in at a table together with their individual orders, everyone watched her expectantly.

Killua shoved the tiny cup holding chocolate chips toward her. "This first. Have you ever seen anything like this before?"

"I have not." Naeva picked up the little cup to eye its contents curiously. "Are they like potato chips?" She had only tried those for the first time two days past; they had been a little too greasy for her liking.

"I give up." Killua dropped his head to his hands. "Just try it."

Naeva suppressed a dubious frown. She had the cup lifted halfway to her mouth when Killua caught her wrist.

"Wait," Killua said quickly. His violet eyes were _very_ solemn. "You have to do this the right way." He took the cup from her and shook just a few of the tiny brown chips into her palm. "Don't chew right away. Chocolate melts on your tongue."

 _It is going to melt?_ Naeva barely managed to keep her skepticism internal. With what she decided was admirable courage, given that she had no notion of what to expect, she put the chocolate chips in her mouth. At first, nothing remarkable happened. There was not even any taste. But then, as the chocolate pieces melted... Her eyes widened. Naeva clapped a hand over her mouth. She was fairly certain that the tiny whimpering noise in her ears had come from her. The chocolate was sweet, very sweet, but more than that it was rich and smooth and so complex... Naeva closed her eyes, to better concentrate on the taste. Decadent, she decided, was the right word – it was decadent. She was very glad to have closed her eyes, because now she thought they might have been watering. Only after the chocolate was gone and she judged that she had herself well-composed did she open them again.

"That might be-" Naeva started too faintly and paused there to regather her poise. Everyone was staring at her. "-the singlemost enjoyable taste I have ever encountered."

Killua grinned – an image of triumph.


End file.
